Jump Drive
by oncoming-traffic
Summary: Was it too much to expect to have a simple life after all they had gone through? Divided, alone, afraid. When the biggest threat fully reveals itself, where will the HiME be? Post-Carnival, with a bit of a twist. Pairings are cannon... mostly.
1. Chapter 1

_**Welcome, welcome! Traffic here. I'm back with more illiterate attempts to destroy your free time! When I finished my last story I promised myself it would be a while before I write something new, but here I am... I suppose I'm relieving stress with this sort of thing. And precisely because I'm using this story as a way to deal with life's hardships, I don't know how regularly I'll be updating. I'm giving you a fair warning, is all. Don't worry though, I've put down a couple of chapters already (just in case). Also, this is not beta'd, so read at your own risk. I don't promise quality, but I'm excited about this project and the readers' opinion on it.**_

**_About the story._ Jump Drive _takes place in the Hime-verse. That's right, very bold on my part. I'll try to stick to cannon as much as I can, but I'm making no promises. *wink wink* The story-line revolves around the HiME, with the absolute centre of the mess being my beloved Kuga Natsuki. Of course, I'm planning on making it rich on characters and character development. The plot is a bit dark, so that's why it's rated M; you know, to be on the safe side. No, I cannot write smexy scenes even if my life depended on it. Any attempt on writing romance has resulted in me harming myself with dull objects during reading said 'masterpiece'. Thus, I fear the thought of writing anything strongly sexual._**

_**Anyway, as you read, you'll find out more about the story. It's action-heavy and doesn't have a strictly set PoV. *retarded giggle***_

**_To be on the fair side, I need to admit that I was strongly influenced by a certain media franchise when I decided to give this project a go. If you want to throw a guess feel free to do so: if you're right you can make a request of the author (aka me, if it's not become clear yet) a scene or something you'd like to see in this story. I, of course, will protect my right to reject the request if it does not fit well with the general feel of_ Jump Drive, _or if I deem it inappropriate._**

_**I think that's all for now. Enjoy!**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

Natsuki woke up with a jolt. Her alarm clock screamed at her that it was time to get up. With a practiced swap of her hand she sent it flying at the wall opposite her bed. It hit hard and fell on top of a pile of unwashed clothes. The display flickered, freezing for a moment at 5:30 am, before the red light died. The room was dark and silent, except for Natsuki's erratic breathing. She had seen it again.

Closing her eyes, she tried to remember the dream, but as always it faded as soon as she woke up. She knew the dream didn't change – every time she woke up with the same feeling of panic and... loneliness. The hairs on her arms were standing up with fear, she noticed with annoyance. Wiping a few stray damp, dark locks out her face, she rose and went to her usual routine.

At least it was easy to navigate in her small dwelling in the dark. She immediately regretted that thought as she stabbed her little finger against something solid. Cursing as silently as her anger allowed her, she limped to the corner which was set up as a kitchen and prepared herself a cup of coffee. As she fumbled in the one and only cupboard her eyes landed on a box of green tea she had once bought by mistake. She hated the taste, but she couldn't bring herself to throw the drink away. After pulling out a box of cereal, she slammed the cupboard shut with an irritated sigh.

While sipping on her coffee she went about her room. Stopping in front of the calendar she dully noted that tomorrow was her rent's due date. Today was a Thursday. The sun rays slowly crept through the curtain-less smeared windows and shed light on what Natsuki had kicked earlier. It was her old personal computer. Old not because she had attained a new one, but because she was saving every penny for her university fees and rent. She had successfully passed the exams of The University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo and was going to enlist as a first-year from the next academical year.

She slid the windows open and cool air rushed in, making her shiver; she realized she was still sweaty from the dream. And it was the first half of March. Her eyes flickered to her cell phone, as for a second she contemplated on calling Mai. Assessing her thought as stupid almost instantly, she snorted at herself and pulled on a pair of jeans.

Mai was probably either still sleeping, or was buzzing around in a rush to get to her job.

_As should you,_ a small voice reminded Natsuki in the back of her head.

A sallow face scoffed at her from the bathroom's mirror. Dark brows creased in scrutiny as misted by exhaustion green eyes observed the unhealthy complexion of a face, which had once been the reason for more than one broken hearts. Slim fingers brushed softly a scar going down from the corner of Natsuki's right eye to her jawline. She absentmindedly hid it with her hair and went for the door, grabbing her back-pack on the way.

While she was putting on her jacket she noted to herself that she needed to clean up her one-room apartment, or she would get kicked out after the next inspection from the land lord. She locked the door behind her and descended the stairs with big leaps. Her train was leaving in fifteen minutes and the station was a thirteen-minute run away from her place.

The busy sounds of the megalopolis preparing for another hard day greeted her with smell of a fresh fish delivery. The owner of the shop on the first floor of her apartment building was unloading crates of tuna, squid, octopus, and all other kinds of sea food. Natsuki quickened her pace and broke into a run. She didn't like the scent of the sea; it reminded her of Fuuka and the events, which had nearly driven her to insanity.

Three peaceful, but hard years had passed since Searrs's last attempt to crush the HiME once and for all. Of course, they had failed.

_But the price was too high for all of us,_ thought Natsuki as she dodged people along the streets of Tokyo. She was living in one of the bigger towns, of which the capital consisted. _Too damn high._

Three years ago, during Mai and Natsuki's third high-school semester, Searrs had launched another attack against the HiME. The organization, having poured millions in their new human-weapons, didn't show mercy in trying to tear the girls apart. Natsuki got away only with a few scars during the confrontation. The sole reason she wasn't killed was that she was too valuable a specimen, she learned later. And she had been lucky on some occasions. This had angered her more than it should have and she had made a mistakes. Those mistakes cost her more than the inconvenience of having to hide part of your face from prying eyes.

In the aftermath she had effectively pushed Shizuru away. Before the accident their brittle relationship seemed to have started healing, however Natsuki had acted out of pure fear and desperation, telling she didn't need or want Shizuru close to her ever again. She had made sure Shizuru wouldn't attempt to remedy the situation. Not a day passed without Natsuki hating herself for what she had done to the only person who had truly loved her for who she was.

The next week Shizuru transferred to a university in Kyoto, her studies and the promise of a job at her family's company waiting for her. A stable and safe future. A deserved break from the madness. Natsuki was left to deal with extreme self-loathing and a feeling of hopelessness, both of which haunted her till this day.

The next year and a half went by in a haze for all HiME. Mai, who had broken up with Tate – for reasons Natsuki suspected were similar to her own – chose to stay in Fuuka after graduation. She was working now full-time at a what had, thanks to her help, become a big and frequented restaurant. Mikoto had moved in with her brother, so Mai was also living on her own, but was most likely doing a better job of it than Natsuki.

Among the ex-HiME the ones who remained in Fuuka were Himeno Fumi (a headmistress with a number of duties), Sanada Yukariko (now happily wed with a two-year-old child), and Mikoto and Shiho who needed to finish their high-school education. All of the four were even now living in the small town of Fuuka.

Natsuki ran up the escalator in the train station, bumping in a few people along the way and receiving in return angry shouts at her back. She barely made it in time for her train. It was crowded as usual and as the other passengers mutely pushed for more space, Natsuki found herself pressed between a young man and a girl in a prim school uniform.

The announcement that the train was departing could be barely heard over the noise of the station and the jerk caught the still sleepy Natsuki by surprise. She stumbled a bit and her free hand brushed against, what the young woman with horror identified was, the school-girl's petite behind. Sinking back a little, a trace of a blush on her face, she watched how the girl yelped and turned with a glare towards the young man. The poor fellow was the obvious culprit in this situation.

"Pervert!" she accused him and a few gasps were heard. The man's eyes went wide and he lifted his hands in front of himself defensively, clearly afraid what could happen if he was labeled guilty in such a situation. Natsuki said nothing as the short-lived scandal died down. Nevertheless the man got off on the next station.

She sneaked a glance at the school-girl. Her hair was dyed fiery red – a colour Natsuki had gotten so accustomed to, she didn't notice it at first.

_Nao..._

To everybody's surprise Nao, fed up with high-school life, had decided and succeeded in taking two academical years in one and graduated together with Natsuki and Mai. Much to the annoyance of the former. Later Natsuki found out that Nao had cheated through her exams. But the sneaky parasite would never tell her how, of course. And how did Natsuki come to know about that in the first place? Nao had declared that she was going to Tokyo together with her. As was Yukino, together with Haruka. At that time Natsuki didn't mind the company.

The minding started when Nao butted in Natsuki's newly-found rented apartment. An apartment they were both kicked out of when the land lady discovered that for eight months two girls were living there instead of one, as per the contract. Natsuki had been so mad at Nao at the time that she drove her away too.

_I could've been sued! She was a free-loader anyway,_ even now she mentally defended her decision. Sure, Nao had bought her food share, but ultimately it was Natsuki who had paid the bills and rent. And it had been a fact that Nao didn't stick around the apartment that much, which had caused some worry in her room-mate, but they had agreed not to meddle in each other's business. They had lived in a certain form of symbiosis – something Mai marveled at every time she spoke with Natsuki over the phone.

A year ago, while on a break at her part-time, Natsuki had received a single mail from Nao. It read _'I'm going to Hokkaido. Thanks for the roof, mutt.' _Nothing more than a short, simple statement. Natsuki didn't need more than that to know not to stick her nose in the red-head's affairs. She only hoped that Nao knew what she was doing. But she was adaptable and always found a way to survive, much like Natsuki. They just used different methods. No attempt at contact had been made after that.

Natsuki was swept along by the wave of people getting off on her station and as soon as she could she hurried out of the building. Her feet carried her in the direction of the bike-shop she was helping out at. She passed by a construction site, the logo of the Suzushiro company plastered on the surrounding fences.

Haruka had come back to Tokyo to study architecture and to look after Yukino; the second reason was known to everybody else, except for two in question. Natsuki hadn't spoken to either of them for over a year. Once she met Akane and Kazuya by chance at Shibuya, only then finding out that the two of them had also moved to the big city.

As she opened the front door of the shop, loud rock music greeted her. Her colleague, who had once again come before her, was singing in broken English, his back facing her. He wailed about the ruined American dream, love, and drugs. She doubted he knew what the text of the song meant, but said nothing.

She set her bag down silently and coughed. The young man turned around with a blush and rubbed his neck sheepishly at the fact he had been caught. Natsuki suppressed a smile. After a stiff bow she went about her tasks.

As another track from the States started playing, she thought about Akira and Takumi. They were both oversees, Akira pursuing a degree in Arts at a renowned American university, while Takumi was striving to be a doctor. Both of them had won scholarships and were having the time of their lives. Which they fully deserved.

_Lucky bastards. _Natsuki sighed dejectedly. _And you? Without your powers you're nothing special. Just a somewhat physically fit, shit-poor, brokenhearted, lost loser. _

It was another fifteen minutes until the shop opened for business. The owner marched through the front door and went straight to his office, ignoring completely the greeting of the two employees. They looked at each other and the young man blushed again.

_He's worse than I am._

Just as he was about to start another attempt at breaking the ice with a light joke, Natsuki's phone buzzed in her pocket. She thanked mentally whoever had saved her from the trouble of pushing the guy away and quickly excused herself.

The source of her brief salvation soon brought her spirit down however, as it turned out to be the land lord, who demanded an additional sum to this month's rent.

"For maintenance taxes," he had said.

Natsuki stared at the black screen for a bit and her hand trembled. She was tired.

_What did you expect? An easy life with everything laid out in front of you on a silver platter? You were supposed to have died twice already, yet you're still kicking. _

And now she was pressured for money. Was this the normality she had craved so much for?

Her phone's screen lit again and Natsuki stared at the name. What could Mai possibly want with her?

"Yes?" Natsuki rasped and cleared her voice, trying to sound more cheerful. "What's up, Mai?"

She didn't want to worry her friend. Mai had been against Natsuki leaving her home town. Her heart fell when she heard the shaky breath released on the other end of the line. She stayed silent, watching the passing cars and people while trying not to panic.

_"Natsuki,"_ her friend's voice was anything but calm and collected. _"I think I saw an Orphan last night."_

The world around Natsuki went silent for a moment. She clenched her teeth in an attempt to keep her cool. Lately she had felt so pathetic and lost, sometimes she wondered where all her confidence had gone. Mai needed the strong and dependable Natsuki.

"Are you sure?" was the most logical follow-up question. It gave her time to properly think through the situation if an Orphan had indeed re-emerged.

_"Positive,"_ Mai gravely said.

"Why didn't you call me im-?"

_"Because I didn't want to believe it myself!"_ Natsuki could imagine quite vividly her friend's expression. _"I... I don't want this to repeat itself, Natsuki! We're not ready! This time there's no escape!"_

"Calm down! Tell me slowly what happened."

_"... Alright. I'm sorry."_

_Mai fumbled through the bag for her wallet, as she stood in front of the vending machine. She needed to drink something refreshing after the long day at the restaurant. Her way back from work went through Fuuka's central park, full of people during the day, but an eery place during the small hours. Only the occasional keeper could be seen patrolling with a flashlight in hand, on a look-out for hoodlums and drunkards. Weak wind blew and rustled the leaves of the trees. Mai finally pulled out a few coins and paid for her cold drink. It clattered inside the machine and as she bent to take it, she heard another rustle. _

This isn't wind.

_She jumped at a crackle and her breath caught in her throat at the sound of a hiss. Her back pressed to the vending machine, she trembled. Her eyes searched frantically the vicinity. It was dark and it was a good distance away, but she could see._

"_No," she gripped her bag. The long tale swished and struck a tree enough to snap it like a twig. The plant fell, revealing two pairs of viciously glowing yellow eyes. To Mai's relief, they weren't looking at her. Without sparing the creature a second glance, she dashed off in the opposite direction._

"_We're not ready, we're not ready," she kept repeating to herself until she finally reached her apartment's door. Swaying and panting, she opened the door and slipped inside. After checking that she had indeed locked the door, she stumbled in the living room and collapsed on the sofa. Trembling and pale hands gripped the fabric of her skirt. "Why now?"_

"You said you saw it clearly. Why did you hesitate calling?" Natsuki insisted after a few silent seconds. "Only the two of us know that..."

_"What if I was hallucinating?"_ Mai almost screamed at her. _"You know how it is! It was you who first had... what'd you call it-?"_

"PTSD?" Natsuki grimly mumbled. Not long after the attack from Searrs, a few weeks after Shizuru had left, had she experienced the so-called 'flashbacks', caused by what was widely known as Post-traumatic stress disorder. "I'd appreciate it if you don't remind me."

Her first flashback had occurred during the first assault against her and Shizuru.

_Shizuru's hands were securely wrapped around Natsuki, as they drove down the winding road towards Fuuka. Despite Natsuki's protests, Shizuru had refused to put on the younger girl's helmet, claiming with a wink that she liked the feel of the wind in her hair. _

_Shizuru had returned to Fuuka as soon as she had heard that Searrs had began another assault. She had been back at her home town, dealing with personal business, however she boarded the first train back when Yukino had contacted her. Natsuki was against the idea, but seeing that they really could use the help of another HiME, she held back her thoughts on the matter. That Yumemiya girl had just declared that she was in possession of a Child, much like Alyssa's but a lot more powerful. She could obliterate the island at any given moment._

_They took another sharp turn and that's when it happened. The sound of a helicopter's engine could be clearly heard over the splashing waves. Gunfire resounded in the air and if Natsuki hadn't instinctively sped up, the bullets would've tore through her machine's tires, guaranteeing they would crash. _

_Crash._

_Crash. The car was rapidly filling with water. She called out to her mother, but Saeko didn't respond. Her dog was already floating motionlessly next to her. The salty cold water had reached the little girl's chin and continued to creep up until it had covered her whole. Her small fists kept banging on the car's window until she lost consciousness. _

_"Natsuki!"_

_She was riding in the stormy night, her eyes barely seeing the road ahead. A red string flashed in front of her and in a second her world spun and burning pain surged through her body at the impact with the ground at such a high speed. _

"_Natsuki!" _

_She snapped back to. Shizuru was gripping her hands and was maintaining control of the bike with great effort. Her panicked and at the same time imperative call had brought Natsuki back to her senses. She was okay. They were both fine. For now._

_The helicopter roared behind them, firing another round of bullets towards the speeding vehicle. With no time or place left to maneuver out of the line of fire, Natsuki could only hope that they would live through what she was planning. The idea came to her naturally, as something as simple as opening an umbrella when it started raining or making sure the gas stove was turned off before going out._

_Her plan was set into motion the moment the heli emerged from behind the cliff's edge. It had used the advantage of the winding cliff road and was attempting to take them by surprise. For a fraction of the second Natsuki wondered if watching too many action movies had been a good idea. She knew that if they survived, Shizuru wouldn't let her hear the end of it. The bike and the helicopter were now both at the same level. _

_Instead of slowing down, Natsuki revved the engine with all the swiftness she could muster. Her muscles tensed before she let go of the handle and mightily pushed with her legs, effectively thrusting herself and Shizuru off the bike just as the guns blazed with fire. She could only hope Shizuru knew her well enough to have realized in time the crazy tactic and would brace for the impact. _

_The arms around Natsuki's waist tightened and with horror she ascertained that Shizuru wasn't planning on letting her go. But the fall didn't come so soon. The heat from the inevitable explosion threw them back even further and they landed in a heap of limbs on the ground. _

_Natsuki doubted that Shizuru was conscious, considering she took most of the impact in her determination to save her friend. _

Stupid, stupid, stupid...

_Natsuki cursed at that over-protectiveness. Shizuru was laying beside her, but Natsuki didn't dare look at her. Though she didn't want to move, she was forced to when she became aware that the lower part of her left leg was burning with more than pain. With speed even she was surprised at, she sat up and extinguished the flame with vigorous slapping and swearing. _

_All around them was littered with either bike or helicopter parts, the smell of burning gasoline, plastic and steel so strong it made Natsuki rasp with coughs when she pried the half-melted helmet off her head. It was so hot it burned her through her gloved hands, some of the plastic sticking to the fabric. She threw the now useless object aside and her attention focused on Shizuru. _

_The girl lay unconscious, a small dark puddle forming under her head. Her shoulder seemed dislocated. Gulping with anxiety, Natsuki quickly crawled to her friend's limp form. She knelt beside her and slowly lifted Shizuru's head, resting it carefully on her thigh. Sweat stung in her eyes as her brain screamed at her to get them out of there, but her body wouldn't cooperate._

_Natsuki knew that there was no way that the agents on that helicopter would've survived, but she was almost sure there were more inbound for their location. If the signal went dead in such a manner, in their place she would send a whole platoon to confirm the situation. _

She'll be fine.

"_Did Shizuru-hime hit her head somewhere?"_

_She could recognize that sleazy voice anywhere. _

"_Don't even dare say her name," her tone was laced with promises of pain. "What are you doing here, Nagi? Didn't you set off to Wonderland?"_

"_Ouch. Not happy to see me?" Natsuki turned towards the voice. The boy was smiling down at her from the top of the cliff. "I came back to help you, you know."_

"_Even from down here I can smell the bullshit you're spouting!"_

_He childishly pouted. "So you won't believe me?"_

"_Why should I, you worm?"_

"_I even sent Yukino-chan a message for her to come and pick you up." He paused. "They're coming."_

_From his tone Natsuki guessed he wasn't talking about her friends._

"_Searrs?"_

"_Something much more powerful."_

"_Why are you warning me?" Natsuki kept talking, trying to distract herself from the warm blood starting to soak into her suit. "Weren't you in cahoots with the Obsidian Prince?"_

"_I was released from that duty when Mai-hime blew him to oblivion," he crossed his hands. "With no real purpose, I just came back to see whether you breaking those chains was a good idea."_

"_What do you mean?" She glared at him, noticing the Hime star sparkling in the background. _

"_It's not over yet."_

_Even though her body was burning, she could feel the unmistakable sensation on her lower back. Her mark._

"_That Arika girl is the key to everything." _

_Screeching of tires._

"_Find out her purpose. And if you don't despair at the discovery, try to save the world again."_

_The car stopped two meters from them and Youko and Midori came rushing towards the two injured girls. After she made Youko tend to Shizuru first, Natsuki turned her gaze towards the place where Nagi had been standing, only to find him gone. She cursed quietly. Midori helped her to her feet._

"_What exactly happened?" The young archeologist stared wide-eyed at the aftermath of Natsuki's crazy stunt._

"_I'll tell you when we get back," Natsuki pushed back the nagging thought that she had almost gotten both her and Shizuru killed. "Though I think I'll need a new bike..."_

_Midori looked at her questioningly and she shrugged. "They keep exploding."_

A sigh.

_"I... I'm sorry,"_ Mai apologized. _"I don't know what's gotten into me..."_

"Only you and I know what the return of the Orphans means," Natsuki heard herself say, still a bit lost in her memories. "I understand why you thought it might be a... a fragment of your imagination."

_"I wish it were. Later that night I went to the park again."_ Sensing that Natsuki had already opened her mouth to yell at her for her thoughtlessness, Mai rushed to explain._ "I couldn't be sure! I needed to see it and confirm it! I... What I saw last night was real. The tree was laying there and there were traces of the Orphan. Though it wasn't there anymore."_

"And your mark-?"

_"That's the problem, Natsuki. My mark isn't back and neither is the Star."_

* * *

_"I'm coming back,"_ Natsuki declared without a moment's hesitation. The mere statement made Mai feel at ease. _"Did you speak to anybody else about this?"_

"I already called every available HiME. The ones in Fuuka are gathering at the Academy in ten minutes. Actually, I'm already here, waiting for them."

The unusually quiet school gardens were still naked, though the season of the beautiful flowers was just around the corner. Mai sat on a bench, gazing at the blue sky. There was no trace of a cloud there, but what bothered her was that there was no red star either.

_"Are you going to tell them?"_ Natsuki quietly asked.

"I can't do that yet," Mai bit her lip. "I'll wait for you. For now I think I'll tell them to be on high alert."

_"Who's going?"_

"Mikoto, Fumi-san, Sister Yukariko, Shiho-chan. Yukino-san and Akane-chan also confirmed they would be coming. I cannot get a hold of the rest," Mai sighed. "I asked Yukino-san for help as well, but she also hit a wall."

_"You can't reach even Takumi? Isn't he with Akira?"_ The surprise in Natsuki's voice made Mai smile a bit. Her brother was growing more independent and with that – more distant. She was happy for him. For them.

"No. It appears they have disappeared off to somewhere again. Probably on a vacation."

_"Couldn't they pick a time when the world isn't on the brink of annihilation?"_

Mai waved at the approaching headmistress. Mikoto could also be seen running energetically towards her, clad in her high-school uniform, despite the fact that she had graduated already.

"They're coming. I'll see you soon."

_"Bye."_

* * *

With her backpack at her feet and relaxing in her seat, Natsuki watched the scenery changing outside the train. From urbanized and grey, the view changed to forests, mountains and the occasional rice field. The headphones in her ears cracked with static and finally died after a year of proudly fulfilling their duty. This rendered her player absolutely useless.

Natsuki sighed and turned it off. She couldn't sleep. There were thousands of questions swimming in her head, clashing with her worries. Why couldn't the other HiME be contacted, even if they had an agreement to always keep in mind that there might be a need for them to gather once more? Why was there an Orphan sighting, but no Hime star? Was this a false threat or was this indeed their last stand?

_Either way, we have no choice but to try and contain the situation with the number of people available. _

She lifted her haggard eyes towards the screen showing the news. The images ran in front of her, meaningless and empty. A head of politics of a certain nation had accepted a new trading treaty, which wasn't in somebody's favour, hence an attempt of assassination had been carried out. Activists for animal rights were pushing for a new law. The oldest man in the world celebrated his birthday today. A new way to treat cancer was discovered. And so on.

Until the screen went black. Natsuki was a firm believer that bad things always happened in a row, so this wasn't a mere coincidence, but a sign that something, somewhere had gone terribly wrong and she was going to feel the outcome. As it turned out, she was right.

There was an emergency report from Osaka. It showed what Natsuki had come to recognize as 'one of those huge fuckers'. Apparently the creature had come out of nowhere, if the reporter and the witnesses were to be trusted. It was now wrecking havoc on one of Osaka's biggest trade streets. The police could only evacuate the civilians as what looked like a crossbreed between a centipede and a bull destroyed another shop.

Another simultaneous report from Northern Japan replaced the first, quickly pushed aside by one about the same phenomena occurring in the Americas, Europe, South Africa, a number of countries in Asia... The attacks followed the same chaotic pattern. Simple, violent, crippling destruction all over Earth. Striking big cities, the Orphans were throwing every human being on the planet in panic.

_No purpose. They're just letting us know they've arrived._

Natsuki was surrounded by gasps, shouts of disbelief and fear, crying children who didn't understand what exactly was going on, but were just responding to the general atmosphere of anxiety. The young woman's expression was impassive, as she was probably one of the selected few who knew what was going on. She didn't know what to feel. It was bigger and more violent than she had expected. As the people around her screamed that this had to be some kind of joke, she looked at her watch.

If it went well, she'd arrive in Fuuka in the next hour.

* * *

In the next half-an-hour all seven of them were gathered at Fumi's office, watching the news reports on the several screens on the wall opposite of the headmistress's desk. Every single one of them had her eyes wide in shock and disbelief at the scale of the attack. There was no guarantee they were safe at their current location. And it had become apparent that their powers had no intention of returning to their fullest, either.

Mai felt her fists shake as she watched the Orphan she had spotted two nights ago razing a building in Hiroshima to the ground with several consecutive strikes of its tail.

"You couldn't have prevented that, you know."

Everyone was surprised that the first to talk had been the mousy Yukino. Obviously she had followed Mai's distressed gaze and had put two and two together.

"Even if you had tried fighting it, you would have only d-died without your powers."

"Which leads us to the question of why aren't they back?" Akane thoughtfully murmured.

She had changed, Mai noted. As had all of them more or less. Yukino still seemed shy and reserved, but a certain gleam in her eyes suggested she was more confident now. Akane, who had suffered extreme psychological traumas, was now more quiet and gloomy; much in contrast to her joyful and easy-going attitude she had four years ago. Fumi had obviously aged, but had kept her beauty and kind features. She also had a certain adamant feel about her now. Much to Mai's irritation, or relief, Shiho and Yukariko remained vastly unchanged. Except for the fact that the Sister's hair was now long, she was the same as Mai remembered her. As was Shiho's attitude towards her. The shorter girl still felt strongly obliged to glare at Mai at every given opportunity, but at least she wasn't trying to kill her. They had silently agreed on a peace treaty in such times of emergency.

"I must say that I have never heard of anything like this." Fumi was sitting on the edge of her chair, arms folded on the polished desk. "I assure you, I have read every document and book on the Orphans I have access to. There are so many that I thought there was nothing new that could surprise me."

"Clearly you were wrong."

They all turned to the newcomer. Natsuki had slipped into the room without anybody noticing and was now leaning on a bookshelf close to the door. She was clad in a long dark coat, the colour fading at the edges, and a pair of jeans. Her hair was longer compared to last time Mai had met with her friend. Usually a pair of determined vivid eyes would regard the surrounding people, but now only one dull-green orb was visible, the other hidden behind raven-black hair. If somebody had changed, that was Natsuki.

Mai greeted her with a forced smile. It was weakly returned, before Natsuki pushed off the bookshelf and strode towards the group. Her walk was brisk and stiff.

"Kuga-san," Fumi addressed her with surprising coldness. "How did you get in? I had two guards stationed outside the office."

"Had."

"... Excuse me?"

"They're dead," Natsuki calmly announced matter-of-factly.

"And what about the four guarding at the gates?"

"They're not guarding them anymore."


	2. Chapter 2

**_Oh, wow! I didn't think I'd get such a flood of responses in under a week. *giddy laughter* I sincerely thank you! And since I didn't write you a PM, I'll address all of your concerns in my author's note._**

**_Most of the reviewers seem to be anticipating something revolutionary with the pairings. Here, with great regret, I'd like to say that I'll most likely disappoint - I have a plan only for the main plot-points and none for the pairings. It depends on what mood I am when writing. Honestly (I'll repeat myself) romance isn't my forte, so I can't make big promisses in that aspect of the story._**

**_To EliteSky; ah, The Avengers. I certainly like them and am a fan, but they didn't cross my mind when writing this. Though now that you've mentioned them... The avenging theme is very vast and I think that now I'm tempted to put something like that inside_ Jump Drive. _Keep trying! ;) About the flashbacks; yes, the car crash did occur years before Shizuru and Natsuki were attacked, but Natsuki happened to experience during the assault from Searrs. The similarity of the situation just triggered the memory and she 'flashed'. I'm sorry, I'll refrain from writing flashbacks in flashbacks from now on. Also, the distance to the station and stuffs - I'm pretty sure I wrote 'thirteen', not 'thirty' there..._**

**_Returning to this chapter. Here's where the pointless action starts. Yey! Because what is Mai-HiME without a lot of sh*t getting destroyed? If you find something confusing, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll be happy to explain, unless the answer is not in a later chapter. In such case, I'll keep the right of silence._**

**_One last thing. Since I'm in a heavy exam war-zone, I might not be able to update next Sunday. I want to gain a bigger lead of already written chapters when I update next. _**

**_Thank you for the support!_**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME.**

* * *

Mai took a step towards her.

"Natsuki? What's the meaning of this?"

Her friend regarded her with a look which made Mai relax. The message held in her gaze was that she had no involvement in the act. Fumi and the others, though, didn't see that and were now pulling out whatever personal arms they had brought with them. Only Yukariko and Mai stood in shock as the weapons were pointed towards Natsuki.

"Make sure you can fire those before pointing them at people. Do you seriously think _I_ did it?" She scowled and narrowed her visible eye. "This is Searrs's job, no doubt."

"What makes you so sure?" Shiho released the safety of her small gun.

"The big-ass SUV at your front door, you careless idiots!"

"Kuga-san..." Yukino started, but was cut off when the door was opened.

The action itself would be better described like the heavy wooden obstacle being flung out of the way of the person who walked in. Dressed in a smart lab coat, in strode Sugiura Midori with two suited men at her heels. Her trademark cheerful demeanor was nowhere in sight.

"Midori-chan?!" Mai exclaimed as she started towards the woman. "What-?"

Natsuki's extended hand stopped her from going any further.

"Searrs, Midori?" She growled at her ex-teacher. "You're with those terrorists?"

"Let me explain first, Nacchan," Midori spoke, her hands lifting in front her. The Searrs insignia on her shoulders was engraved just bellow the letters 'DR'.

"They give you the title of doctor and you ran to them? Is _that_ it?" Natsuki snarled.

"No! But they gave me the research money and opportunities _she,_" she pointed at the scowling Fumi, "was never willing to! Without them, we wouldn't know what's going on right now!"

"But we _do_!" Natsuki argued back. "The fucking Orphans have come back to wipe out all of life on this miserable planet!"

"We're both aware there is more to it, Nacchan."

"Don't call me that!"

"Will you listen if I stopped?" A tiny smile swam in Midori's eyes. Natsuki regarded her coldly.

"Give it your best shot."

Midori nodded her thanks and turned to address the others.

"It's safe to assume they haven't been told the whole story behind the incident three years ago?"

"No," Mai shifted in her place, looks of accusation shifting towards her. "They know that after Alyssa and I took down Arika's Child, Searrs's forces retreated and the fight ended with that. I'm surprised you're aware of it. Though, seeing that you're with Searrs now..."

"So what really happened, Mai-chan?" Akane tried to hide the anger in her voice, but failed.

Midori saved her the taxing explanation by answering herself.

"When Searrs attacked three years ago, they didn't want to kill us. They wanted to use us for experimental purposes."

"They wanted to turn us into lab rats? By trying to decapitate us in the process?" Shiho bristled. "They could've asked nicely. I would have _gladly_ given Mai-san over to them."

Mai didn't bother with more than a fiery glare directed at the offender.

"None of us would've willingly gone to them," Yukino pointed out, now seemingly more willing to cooperate. Her firearm was now tucked away. "Question is, why do they want us so much?"

"They could never trust the HiME with a task as important as preventing the apocalypse," Midori shook her head. "We proved them wrong not once, but twice. That wasn't enough, because the enemy we're facing now is more powerful than the Orphans."

"The only being more powerful than an Orphan or Child was the Obsidian Lord. He tried to destroy humanity once," the quiet until now Yukariko spoke. "And the second time Searrs led astray innocent children to fight their battle. They even summoned Orphans to help them fight against the HiME. Thank God neither the Obsidian Lord, nor Searrs succeeded."

"Thank Mai and Alyssa, not God," Natsuki looked reproachfully at the Sister. "If it weren't for their Childs' firepower, we'd all be floating in pieces in dark space."

"Anyways," Midori cleared her voice, "both times we were fighting against what was only the vanguard of the real threat.

"What Mai-chan destroyed during the Carnival was not a unique existence. What we called the Obsidian Lord was actually one of a whole... race... of beings similar to it. Beings able to obliterate a whole world with just a thought. We still don't know where they came from or what _exactly _they are. But with the turn of the tide in the battle with Obsidian we drew their attention to us. Until that point they were the ones who decided whether we live or die. When they lost power, they tried to regain it."

"But... why now? If they are so powerful, why would they try to destroy us after all this time? They had so many opportunities," Fumi had quickly accepted the problem and was now asking for details. Mai was glad they had somebody like her. She herself still felt like a teenager in the presence of the headmistress.

Midori nodded, showing she had acknowledged that question. "I'll address that later on, Fumi-san."

The pink-haired woman said nothing, but the lack of a response was a clear message of displeasure.

"When Searrs attacked us they knew what we had to face and wanted to take that... burden off our shoulders."

"More like remove us from their way," Natsuki fumed. "Well, I can see why they wouldn't like to leave the faith of the planet in the hands of hormonal teenagers, but they had their asses handed to them twice. That doesn't say much about them."

"After the last fight with Arika," Midori went on, ignoring Natsuki, "the reason why Searrs wanted us was revealed... accidentally... to Natsuki. She told Mai and I only learned later on. Searrs wanted to design weapons... human-weapons to combat those creatures when they get to our world. We prevented their arrival by smashing Arika's Child against the newly formed Hime star. So that made two times in a row. Now, those creatures are launching a massive attack in order to make sure we fall and don't get back up."

"Wait, so those... creatures... just flow around in space and once every three hundred years they say 'Why don't we check out Earth, see if it needs to be destroyed?'" Shiho asked.

"That... that might be a little bit hard to explain," Midori rubbed her neck. "I'm no physicist, but I'll try to present this in an easy to understand way. So, you know that there's a theory on the existence of parallel universes? It's still only a hypothesis, but Searrs thinks the creatures live in the space _between_ those universes and they... observe them. _Why_ is still a big unknown. It's speculated that on a decided period of time they exercise control over the universes. If something has gone wrong, they fix it by destroying that world."

"Hold on second!" Mai exclaimed, also noting the startled expression on Natsuki's face. "How did you come to know that last part?"

"That's what I really wanted to talk to you about," Midori confessed, twisting her hands unconsciously. "We found a certain artefact... Well, actually _I _found it and Searrs rushed in a few moments later."

"Typical," Natsuki rolled her eyes.

"This artefact reveals more about that race. Thing is that it's nothing we've seen in our world before."

Stunned silence.

"I don't believe you."

"Nacchan..."

"Take me to it."

"What?"

"Until I see it with my own eyes, I won't believe a thing that comes out of your mouth, Midori," Natsuki stared unblinkingly at the doctor.

The ex-history teacher furrowed her brows, but nodded at long last. "Alright."

"You don't have the clearance to make this decision, doctor," one of the agents spoke threateningly. Midori whipped around to face him and he took a step back when seeing her face.

"I'm head of this project! Damn right I have the clearance to let her see it!" She turned towards Natsuki again. "On one condition."

"Shoot, teach."

"If you believe me after I show it to you, you'll join Searrs this time, and convince the other HiME that they have to fight on our side."

"Mido-" Mai was scandalized by the offer, not believing their beloved mentor was willing to go that far.

"Fine," Natsuki answered without hesitation. It was obvious though that she was far from happy with the resolution. Mai watched her friend with her mouth open. "I can't guarantee about making the others joining Searrs, however. I can only tell them what I saw."

"Deal."

They shook hands, much to the displeasure of every soul in the office at that moment.

"Let's get going then."

"Wait, you're going to go without us?" Shiho indignantly squealed. Natsuki slowly turned around, glaring the girl into a hole in the ground.

"I'm sorry, is this an elementary school trip?"

"This time I must agree with Munakata-san, Kuga-san," Himeno rose from her chair. "We all have the right to see this artefact with our eyes and then decide whether to fight together with Searrs."

"Only one person will be going and that would be me," Natsuki stated and didn't wait for another outburst. Sparing Mai a brief glance she, Midori, and the Searrs agents left the office before any more words of protest could be uttered.

"Why I ought to...!"

"Natsuki-san is just making sure we aren't caught by Searrs," Yukino beat Mai in defending their friend's actions.

"What we need to do now is find a secure location and get there quickly!" Mai urged the other HiME. "Nowhere in the open is safe and we need to get a hold of the others."

_If they are still alive, _hung unsaid in the air.

* * *

"Head of the project, huh?" Natsuki sneaked a peek at Midori's tablet computer. She didn't understand any of the information flowing down the display. Noticing the action, the doctor turned it off and put it away.

They were sitting at the back of the SUV. The two agents were at the front, one of them driving, while the other was vigilantly watching whether they were in danger. Natsuki didn't blame him. It was way too suspicious that Fuuka wasn't attacked yet.

"This... this looks worse than it really is," Midori closed her eyes and rubbed them, sighing exasperatedly. "I didn't sell out the HiME for power, Natsuki."

"I know," Natsuki mumbled, her eyes fixed on the guard. "I'm sorry I overreacted. But if we're going to fight this together with everyone, you should expect the same attitude. Himeno's dead guards..."

"Not my orders," the archaeologist was fast to answer. "Came from above. I... had no time to react..."

"I see."

A short moment of silence passed between them. Natsuki realized she didn't really know where they were going. They were in the outskirts of the city, that was for sure, though she was positive that she had never come this way before.

"I'm bothered that there are still no reports on attacks in Fuuka. The Orphans are drawn to HiME and most of us are here. Why didn't they hit here first? Sure, Mai spotted one two days ago, but there was no evidence it had caused any real harm," Natsuki mused aloud. "Instead they're going wild everywhere else, except here. The self-defence forces in this region are focused on the big cities. Fuuka is not a priority. We have no means of..."

A lump formed in her throat as realization hit her; Midori stiffened next to her. They shared a terrified look.

"We're like fish in a barrel," the ex-teacher whispered fearfully. "The Orphans are simply waiting for us to gather. They're acting with a _plan_."

"Which means that they are being controlled. But why haven't they destroyed us yet? They have the power," Natsuki shifted in her seat. Her shoulder-holstered guns pressed against her reassuringly, but that didn't ease her anxiety.

"Or they don't possess as much power as we give them credit for," Midori again pulled out her tablet, going over the data in a mad search for something unknown to Natsuki.

"What do you mean?"

"That they can't invade our world _yet_," Midori answered Natsuki with an equally intense look. "The Orphans are searching for something and those attacks are just for distraction. If they gather us in one place, they can slaughter us, eliminating any chances we'd have at stopping them."

"Our chances are close to zero," Natsuki grimly pointed out. "We can't even summon our Childs."

"But we still know more about killing Orphans than any soul alive."

"True."

"Doctor, there's been a report from the base," suddenly one of the agents spoke. "It's under attack. We have a visual."

"Put it through!" Midori's eyes glued to the screen on the car's panel. She made a double-take at the images.

Natsuki wished she had brought a bazooka instead of two small firearms.

* * *

The SUV slid to a halt in front of a hole which supposedly was once a gate. The ten-meter-high wall was crumbling and threatening to fall on top of grotesquely slaughtered men and women. Even if they were Searrs agents, Natsuki wasn't that heartless as to feel nothing when her eyes went over the carnage. However, there were no Orphans in sight.

"We need to get to the artefact!" Midori pulled two shotguns out of the trunk and tossed one at Natsuki. She smirked at the feeling of the wide-barreled heavy weapon in her hands. Without sparing the two agents a look, the two HiME headed into the facility.

The enclosed area was littered with burning vehicles in the parking lots, human bodies, chunks of Orphans and a lot of differently coloured blood – from green to deep red. Natsuki was about to step in a small pool of the mixture when she noticed that the arm in it was slowly dissolving. She circled around and continued the dash towards the building, catching up to Midori. The well-known sound of gunfire and screeching resounded from the walls; it was coming from somewhere inside the building.

What they saw on the floor and walls made Natsuki flinch. The situation was much like the one outside – signs of casualties on both sides, though there was only solid (or not so much) proof of _dead_ humans. There were no whole Orphan bodies. But something else worried Natsuki more.

"How did they get inside without destroying the building itself?" she shouted at Midori's back, as they descended a flight of stairs.

"I don't know!" The older woman didn't turn towards her when she answered. "Do we have any reports from the team stationed at the laboratory?"

"Negative!" One of the men answered. Midori cursed loudly.

_So whatever that artefact is, it's important enough for the Orphans to strike here first. _

Natsuki gripped the shotgun tighter. She hadn't seen such a model before, even in the hands of First District agents. For once she was glad she was holding a weapon produced by Searrs.

Midori stopped abruptly, causing Natsuki to almost run into her. The scientist peaked behind the corner and when she turned towards her companions, her face was ashen. Natsuki pushed her gently to the side, showing she wanted to take a look for herself.

She couldn't blame Midori for the shocked reaction.

The long corridor was riddled with bullet holes, black explosion marks, and more blood. A torn in half dog-like Orphan, the size of a small horse had already started degrading next to the fallen forms of a few agents. There was a barricade on the other end, made up from desks, crates and more bodies. On the side opposite of her group were the Searrs agents, who were showering the Orphans with bullets. If those monsters fell under that category any more.

Some of the creatures looked the same as the ones the HiME had fought, but only smaller in size. Most of them were taller than the average human, but not by far. What shocked Natsuki to her core was the new type of Orphans.

At first Natsuki thought they were actual people, but while the creatures were humanoid, they differed greatly from humans. There was a total ten of them. Some had tentacles instead of arms or legs, and the number of eyes and the colour of their skin and plating varied. What they had in common were the mouths, stretching from one end of their bald heads to the other. With each hiss and cry they made they revealed two rows of razor-sharp teeth.

Suddenly Natsuki questioned her will to fight. Her back now pressed to the wall, she slowly regarded Midori and the two agents. She didn't know if she could rely on the two men in terms of combat and what she saw in her fellow HiME's look was fear. An overwhelming amount of fear. But it was a do-or-die.

"They haven't spotted us yet," Natsuki listened to her steely voice. She was secretly proud that she managed to keep the shaking and horror out of it. "If we attack their rear, maybe they'll loosen up their frontal assault enough for the other agents to regain their footing."

Midori clenched her jaw and gave a stiff nod.

"The shotguns are loaded with three rounds. We don't have additional ammo, since they're only experimental. I brought them with us if something like this happened. The bullet explodes once it hits a target," she explained briefly and adjusted the aiming mechanism.

Best case scenario was they managed to kill six Orphans with the shotguns and open a path wide enough for them to reach the other side of the barricade. That is, if the Orphans died from one shot.

"Let's move!"

Natsuki spun from around the corner and aimed the weapon. Her first shot struck right in the middle of the mob of monsters. She stumbled back from the recoil. The lower part of the body of the Orphan she had shot in the head slumped lifelessly on the ground. It drew the attention of its misshapen friends, who didn't spare a second in taking up the slaughter of the newly arrived humans.

Another shot came from Natsuki's group, but this time it was a courtesy of Midori. The agents' machine guns blazed and made the Orphans shriek with what Natsuki thought was irritation rather than pain. Nevertheless, she continued forward, determined to jump head-first among the monsters.

She dived under a claw aimed at her head and released another round in the chest area of what was a surprisingly nimble robot-bear. The force of the weapon was so strong, the bullet left a gaping hole in the creature and struck one of the new-type Orphans. It buckled under its own weight and fell to one side.

What made Natsuki and Midori's plan so dangerous was the fact that Orphans usually went out in a glorious explosion or a series of smaller ones. That was exactly why they needed to move forward as fast as possible. The two HiME pushed towards the barricade, jumping over the Orphan that had been injured by Natsuki earlier. Only their inhumane speed and reflexes were the reason they had survived more than five seconds in this Orphan mince mill. The agents in the rear were already dead, caught up in the last explosion.

Natsuki's whole being was concentrated on making it past the last rather small resembling a snake Orphan. Friendly fire was zooming past her in an attempt to slow down the other enemies, who had emerged from the explosion rather unharmed judging by the roars behind her and Midori. The force wave knocked her fellow HiME off her feet and she fell forward. The snake sprang at her face.

Natsuki emptied her last round in the creature's head, which went out in a blaze of heat, light, and steel. Midori shut her eyes with an agonizing cry, but didn't let go of her shotgun. Natsuki grabbed her under the arm and dragged her to her feet, pushing her forward. They made it.

After shoving Midori behind a crate, Natsuki threw aside the now empty shotgun and pulled out her pistols. Whipping around in an arc, she started shooting at the Orphans. With the agents' help, they just might secure this point for a while until they reached the artefact Midori had found.

Her guns clicked empty and she expertly reloaded them, agitated that her bullets didn't do more than scratch the creatures' platings. Just as they aimed at the nearest Orphan, she was jerked by the leg and next thing she knew was that she was on her back. All of the air knocked out of her lungs, she mutely watched how the Orphan she had crippled earlier had its tentacle limb around her ankle and was pulling her towards itself. It was crawling on the ground, mouth wide open. She fired, but the shots just bounced off the hissing monster's steel scales.

A shotgun round ripped the limb in half, effectively freeing Natsuki who immediately crawled back behind an overturned table. Her frantic gaze met with Midori's glazed one. The archaeologist was panting, a deep gash above her brow, one of her eyes shut behind a red curtain. She was holding the steaming weapon, grinning at the other HiME.

"You could've blown off my fucking leg!" Natsuki could tell that Midori still couldn't see well, not to mention her sight was obstructed.

"But I didn't! Be glad you still have your pretty head on your shoulders!" Midori yelled over the gunfire. "Those guys will hold the Orphans for now. Get a move on!"

"Stop bossing me around, Ms Head-researcher!"

Natsuki hastily pulled away the remains of the tentacle limb still wrapped around her ankle and lower leg. She yelped in pain, regretting her rash action.

_It couldn't be **just** a tentacle, now could it? It had to have hooks!_

With blood seeping from the numerous small wounds, she stumbled to her feet and followed Midori. The gunfire behind them gradually began to fade into the background as they went deeper down the corridor. They could barely see where they were going, only the emergency lights working in the state of emergency.

Once they reached a dead-end, Midori opened a panel next to what Natsuki presumed to be some kind of door. It was round and as soon as the code was recognized and the identification was complete, the door retracted spirally in its frame, revealing an opening, through which they stepped through.

Natsuki felt almost guilty for entering such a sterile room while dripping in sweat and smelling of carnage. The brightness from the numerous lamps and the stark-whiteness of the tiles which covered the oval room made her head spin and she had to blink several times before trotting after Midori. The doctor was taking big strides towards the centre of the laboratory, where Natsuki supposed was the artefact. What she could see was a big cylinder made from protective glass with so much tech around it that even she found herself impressed. Just what ammount money did Searrs possess?

Midori started pounding on one of the keyboards and a holographic screen appeared. Natsuki approached in awe. A series of photos came up on the screen, all linked to a location on a world map. As the map became more precise, Natsuki realized she was looking at some ancient Mayan ruins.

"Wanting to learn more about the Orphans and their origin, I went on several expeditions around the world, searching for more information. I ended up using up all of my savings, but finally I reached this place," Midori showed her a monument, which meant nothing to Natsuki. In her eyes it was just a pile of rocks with some pictures on it.

_Dammit, I have no right to judge her, _she grudgingly admitted to herself. _She's done so much more than me. I just ran._

"But those ruins in actuality have nothing to do with the artefact, because, as you can see, it looks like nothing from any known civilization."

Finally Natsuki lifted her eyes towards the object behind the glass. It was sustained in the air by some kind of power field, and was floating with a low hum. Midori was right. Its appearance was alien to the young woman. It resembled a ball, though it didn't really have a stable shape – its surface kept rippling.

"You found it in this state?" Natsuki couldn't believe that ancient ruins could sustain an electrically powered protective field.

"No," Midori shook her head. "It was solid."

"Solid..." Natsuki was mesmerized by the way the dark object reflected the light. It was beautiful.

"Yes, I can only describe it as a black diamond. When it was brought here the Searrs scientists ran some tests on it. It was... perfect in every way – its physical properties, proportions-," the doctor trailed off. "But one thing was made sure: this is not a doing of nature."

"And there's no technology in our world that can produce something that flawless," Natsuki pondered with her eyes narrowing. Now Midori's hypothesis about the other universes made more sense. This however brought to the front more questions, to which she was sure that they could not answer as of now. She was brought out of her thoughts by a grumble outside and the sound of rushed footsteps coming from the corridor.

Midori started lowering the glass cylinder, with turning off the power field first. By the time the glass had retracted inside the floor, the artefact was laying on the ground in its solid state. It was the size of a child's head. A Searrs agent stood panting at the round opening.

"Two soldiers are holding them back, but they are coming!" He made a step towards them. "We need to use the escape route before-"

He gargled and dropped his rifle in the fresh puddle of blood at his feet. The sharp edge of one of the new Orphans' limbs was protruding by a good span out of his chest. It retreated with a sickening crunch and the man fell limply on the ground. Three eyes the size of a man's fists gleamed from the darkness in the hall.

Midori slammed her palm on one of the buttons on the control panel and a one of the tiles on the ground slid aside, revealing their exit. Though it was a good way from the artefact. Without thinking Natsuki jumped over the panel down towards the black stone. Her leg cried in pain when she landed, but she ignored it. She extended her hand, her fingers a hair away from the object.

She heard her name, but didn't turn around. From the corner of her eye she saw the Orphan's drill-shaped long limb extending towards the artefact. A shot resounded just as the tips of her fingers brushed the surface of the object and it all happened at the same as the sharp edge struck its target. Everything in her body went numb as a blue light blinded her. Her last thought was that she had just lost their only hope of salvation.

* * *

Natsuki saw the Hime star. Though it looked different than she remembered it. When Mashiro had revived them and the Obsidian Lord had launched his final attack, they had been transferred to another dimension of sorts, where the star was in its real form, not just an astral projection that only HiME could see. This star was on Earth, though she had never seen this place before. It wasn't clear and it had no distinguishing features. But she _knew _it was Earth.

Orphans were gathered around it. The red star began glowing brightly until all that Natsuki could see was crimson. She could hear screams. Yellow eyes with pink irises began to appear and soon the red background was like a night sky lit with fear and death looking down at Natsuki. If she could yell for help, she would have.

"Natsuki!" Midori's voice was a muffled shout in the sea of cries. "Open your eyes!"

_I can't! _She wanted to tell her. _Please, I..._

And as suddenly it had all started, she was staring at Midori's filled with panic moss-green eyes. She gasped for air and her left hand shot towards her fellow HiME's shoulder, gripping it painfully. Wanting to scream and cry, she just settled for bearing her surroundings for the moment. Her eyes wandered around and she saw that what was left of the Orphan was a lone black mark on the floor. How had she managed to survive if only the memory of the creature remained? She swallowed back the rising bile in her throat and motioned for Midori to help her rise.

Still dizzy, she struggled to regain her senses, her body shaking with uncontrollable coughing. Then the reason that she was in such a state came back to her and her head snapped at the direction of the object. It was split in two pieces. As if in a dream she knelt in front of it and reached for it with her right hand. Midori was watching her silently, her jaw set in a solemn way that looked foreign on the woman's face.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Well, look at this - I'm posting a bit ahead of schedule. I hope this chapter finds you enjoying your summer vacation in good health, despite the heat and the sticky weather. And for those of you who live in a colder climate (if any of you are reading): I envy you so very much. **_

_**Again, I received positive feedback, which managed to brighten up my week during the hard exam season. Which is now officially over! Yay! **_

_**Ahem, to regard a question **_**Anon**_** asked: the 'Arika plot' came from the fake trailer for the movie. As far as I know, there isn't a novel focusing on it. I simply decided to expand on it and play a bit with my immagination. The trailer was used as a tool to integrate**_**Jump Drive**_** in the HiME-verse. Though as I make progress in writing the chapters I notice that I drift further and further away from the original Mai-HiME setting... so I'll warn you from now that this miiight turn a bit AU. I'm broadening a bit the 'stage' on which the plot will be carried out. But it'll be interesting! (I hope... I'm aiming for at least mildly intriguing.) You'll see. *Duval-wink* **_

_**I loved TwiddledSpire's comment on Slender. *laughing* I don't know why I ever thought of playing that game. I ended up eating a ton of ice-cream later in attempts to calm myself down. Though the reason that the new Orphans look like that isn't because of Slender... I think. I need some time to reflect on this and ask my subconsciousness a few questions. Also, this isn't the only fanfic, which uses the trailer with Arika; I'm pretty sure that there was at least one multi-chaptered story that was connected to it. If you dig a bit in the archives, I'm sure it'll pop out.  
**_

_**Returning to the current installment; it's a slower chapter, just before we return to the action I so much love. I don't know about reading it, but it sure is taxing to write so much scenes, which include running, jumping, shooting, slashing, screaming, burning, etc. This chapter has a big impact on the events to unfold, so I hope that I haven't managed to screw up somewhere. **_

**_Any and all comments and thoughts are welcomed. I do not frown upon criticism (as I've said many times) - it's the only way for a person to better themselves, or so I'd like to think. Also, feel free to keep guessing which form of audio-visual entertainment lies behind_ Jump Drive. _To my utter shame, I'm afraid that it'll become more obvious as the story progresses. _**

_**That being said, ENJOY!**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mai-HiME!**

* * *

Natsuki's eyes went wide. Until now she hadn't realized that there was a hole in her palm. The reason was that there was no trace of pain, just dark blood. What made her freeze for a moment in horror was the small shard, barely sticking out from the back of her hand. It was hardly visible under the maroon glove.

As if she had been burnt, she hastily retracted her arm and cradled it to her chest, hoping that Midori hadn't seen the shard. The archaeologist's attention however was focused on the pieces of the artefact.

A roar was heard from behind them.

"They're all dead," Midori grimly announced and knelt next to the younger woman. "Let's take what's left and make a run for it before we join them."

Her ex-teacher had changed a lot, Natsuki realized. She mourned the loss of her always justice-driven, jolly friend as she nodded at the serious scientist's words. Before Midori could pick up the second smaller piece, Natsuki snatched it from under her hand, shoving it forcefully in her coat's pocket.

"I haven't said I would co-operate with Searrs," she answered the angry look she got. "And even if I did, I need a guarantee that they won't betray me."

A pregnant pause.

"Fine. Just let's get out of here. We'll discuss this again."

As they slid the tile above their heads, blocking the entrance, they heard angry screeching from the abandoned facility.

* * *

Mai pressed again with agitation the red receiver button of her cell phone. She couldn't reach Natsuki for the past hour and this made her worry more. Reports of Orphan sightings were being broadcast on the local radio channel, though they appeared random and disorganized.

"No news?" Akane peered at her from behind a book on the Carnival Fumi had given her. They were in the restricted part of the school's library. If they were going to be found anyway, the HiME figured it would be best to be on their own turf. It was only a matter of time before they were attacked and they intended to use their surroundings to the fullest. Though the weapons they were currently equipped with were laughable, considering their enemy.

"None," Mai tapped her foot. It had been far too long since Natsuki left.

"Yes?"

She turned towards Yukino, who had her own cell pressed to her ear, listening with creased brows and pursed lips.

"I see," she slowly said. "We'll contact you once we know the details."

"I trust that wasn't Suzushiro?" Shiho was leaning on the railing on the upper floor, her loosened hair hanging in a sparkling waterfall.

"No, it was Midori." Having everybody's attention, Yukino continued. "The Searrs facility is as good as lost, as is the artefact."

"Not completely," a new voice said.

"How do you always manage to just appear, Kuga?" The question came again from Shiho.

Natsuki shrugged and pulled the piece of the artefact out of her pocket. She held it in her open palm for everyone to see.

"This is one of the three parts it was broken into. You can thank the new type of Orphans for that." She tossed it at Yukariko, who caught it with a squeal. "Another piece I left with Midori to bring it back to Searrs."

"What about the third piece?" Mai asked, fearing the answer. If the Orphans had it...

Natsuki lifted her right hand and removed an improvised bandage wrapped it. A few gasps followed as the shard gleamed from under the dried blood.

"Goodness, Natsuki! Are you okay?" Mai rushed to her friend's side in the blink of an eye. She inhaled sharply when she saw thin blue geometrical lines shining on Natsuki's skin around the area the shard was stuck in. When she didn't get a reply, Mai looked up at her.

Natsuki was even more pale than earlier that day, her face smeared with gunpowder and sweat. Small cuts on her cheeks and reddened parts on her skin suggested she had most likely literally jumped through fire in order to get that artefact. If destruction was the aroma of a classy perfume, Natsuki had spared no expenses and poured a whole bottle over her head.

"You need a doctor to take a look at you," Mai said curtly. The fact that no rebuttal followed made her worry more. Natsuki regarded her wearily.

"What I need is a cold drink and some time to explain you what happened."

* * *

They all sat quietly, too shocked to say anything while Natsuki retold them the events without sparing them the gruesome details. All the while she seemed detached, as if all of this hadn't happened to her, but to a different person whatsoever. She finally told them about what she had seen during and after the artefact's destruction.

"... And then we left the facility. There were no survivors."

Nobody could say anything for the next few minutes. It was hard to wrap your head around something like this, even if you were a person used to fighting with insanity on a regular basis.

"I don't think letting Searrs know about that shard in your hand is a good idea, Kuga-san," Fumi finally spoke. "It was prudent on your part to hide it from Sugiura-san."

"Even though I guess that now we don't have any choice but to join forces with them like she has," Yukariko sombrely voiced out everybody's thoughts. "We don't have our Childs to protect us any more."

"For one, I am glad my most important person won't die in green sparkles!" Akane's outburst startled Mai.

"Yeah, now everybody's going to die, instead of just your boyfriend," Shiho narrowed her eyes.

"Silence!" Fumi pulled out the headmistress card and the two young women calmed down under the imperative tone. "The last thing we need is infighting. As much as I'm against the idea, I think we should go to Searrs. Since there is evidence that the HiME can be instrumental in defeating the Orphans and the ones behind them, they should provide us with protection and means to end this madness."

Loud clapping came from the person sitting on top of one of the shelves.

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Nagi beamed at them. Natsuki was the first to snarl at him. "Don't be like that! I brought you a gift."

"I don't like to being referred to as an inanimate object," Kanzaki Reito's silky voice made Mai jump around and regard with surprise the man standing in the door.

"Kuga has competition in the creep-league," Shiho dryly commented.

"Oh, a present? What are we supposed to do with Kanzaki?" Natsuki threw him a nasty look. "Use him as bait?"

"After all these years, you still can see me as nothing more than an eye-sore, Natsuki-san?" He was obviously displeased at the treatment he was getting. Mai felt sorry for him, but didn't move to defend him. She herself didn't trust the man completely.

"I'm sorry, are you trying to make me feel _bad _about it?"

"No, I'm trying to say that I can be more than that."

"More than a mind-controlled prick that tried to kill us all? Successfully, I may add."

"Natsuki, stop it!" The quiet until now Mikoto burst out. Apparently Mai hadn't been the only one who had forgotten she was there, judging by Natsuki's expression. "I won't let you bad-mouth and mistreat my brother any further! You know he has changed. We all have."

"Alright," Natsuki conceded after a level look she sent her younger friend. Mikoto visibly relaxed and Mai released a small sigh of relief. Now in full Ice Princess mode, Natsuki turned back to Reito. "Let's hear your plan, pretty boy."

* * *

"We appreciate you bringing us the previous host of the Obsidian Lord," John Smith stood in front of the HiME in all of his cunning glory. Mai hadn't met the man before, but seeing Natsuki's reaction to his mere presence, she developed an immediate dislike for him.

"Take it as an offer for a temporary truce," Natsuki crossed her hands. She was still in her thorn-up clothes. They didn't want to waste time in moving. Every second mattered in stopping the invasion.

Smith smirked.

"This and half of the artefact seals it, I guess," his eyes slid over the group sitting around the long table. They were all in one of the conference rooms in the Searrs building in Fuuka. "Are you certain you can't entrust us with-?"

"The day you lay your sleazy paws on the other part of the artefact is the day we leave you to fight the Orphans alone. And you know you need us," Natsuki said firmly. The man sighed animatedly.

"With the artefact broken, a part of it would be more than a sufficient for any experiments you'd like to conduct," Yukino shifted in her seat. She nervously glanced at the faces of the other Searrs chiefs, gathered around Smith. Midori was also present.

"We'll fight the Orphans with you. What we need are weapons and resources," Fumi was all business, her posture well schooled. Smith waved with his hand.

"You have them!"

"I want protection for my family," Yukariko met the man's eyes unyieldingly.

"Already done. They have been moved to the bunkers built for the families of Searrs's agents, in case of an emergency like this one."

Mai was hesitant for a moment in asking for protection over Tate, but Shiho beat her to it. He also had been granted permission to live in the Searrs's civilian facilities. What worried her more was that there was still no news on Takumi. She decided she would ask later, pretty much sure that Searrs knew everything there was to know about Akira's location and with that – her brother's.

"With this I'll disband the meeting," Smith stood up, followed by the other Searrs. "There will be a debriefing in another two hours, so I suggest you rest before you depart."

"Depart?"

* * *

Natsuki stepped in the small quarters and the steel door slid behind her with a mechanical click. She pulled off her torn coat and threw it on the bed, after which she continued to strip off her dirty clothes. There was a Searrs uniform on her bed, which she regarded with distaste.

She stumbled into the shower in the claustrophobic bathroom and relished in the feeling of the hot water. It seemed to wash away her weariness, along with the gunpowder and blood. Her leg throbbed with fading pain, as the small wounds left from the Orphan had already half-healed. One of the perks of being a HiME.

Her hand unconsciously reached for the place on her lower back where her mark used to be. Why hadn't it appeared? If there were Orphans all over the place, where was the Hime star? They needed it for their powers to manifest fully. She thought back to that... vision.

What she saw back then was, without a mistake, the Hime star. It had Orphans all around it and... what she assumed were the creatures like Obsidian. The Star needed to be destroyed again, that she knew for sure. The question was, where was that place?

_Or rather, where __**will**_ it _be...?  
_

Her eyes trailed down to the bandage on her right hand. She still hadn't taken it off out of fear that Searrs would see the shard stuck through the observation cameras, which she was sure were all over the place. Her arm didn't really hurt as much as she expected. But she was worried. Worried that blue lines had started appearing around the wound; worried that when she tried to remove the shard it wouldn't come out. It was a huge risk to carry it around with her, while not knowing what it was.

She stepped back into the room, water dipping from her on the bare floor.

Though the impersonal grey Searrs clothes fit her nicely, she wanted to tear them apart the moment she looked at herself in the mirror. The next opportunity she got, she was going to get something without the shield-like logo. She wanted nothing to do with the organization. Memories of her mother flashed in front of her eyes as she lay on the bed and she growled out in frustration.

They were going to call them soon, might as well get some sleep, she reasoned.

* * *

After descending another few levels, Mai finally reached the place where the other HiME had already gathered. She stood at the back, next to Mikoto. Natsuki sneaked a look at her and nodded a greeting. Mai smiled in return and shifted her attention to the man who was in front of the group. He his unkempt hair was streaked with white and grey, and something told Mai that he was one of _those _scientists.

She gasped at what was laid out on the table in front of him.

"Seeing that you have all gathered," he regarded Mai briefly and she looked at her feet, "I think we can move onto the explanations. These are your new weapons. Instead of just talking about what they do, I suggest you try them out for yourselves. Carefully."

Mai went to what she knew were hers. She clipped the bracelets around her ankles and wrists and immediately felt a familiar heat. From golden they went crimson and the air around them began to warm up. They were of simple design, divided in three circles with the innermost spinning slightly. She bent her knees and pushed off the ground. It wasn't as quick as when she used her Elements, but she did ascend in the air. Now she was floating a meter above the ground. The inner parts of the bracelets had raised their momentum's speed.

"Good," the man nodded his approval. "If you concentrate enough you should be able to perform attacks and manoeuvres similar to when you had your Elements."

"Okay," was all Mai could say. Her feet touched the ground and she observed closely the bracelets. They didn't give her nearly half the power of her Elements had and most certainly didn't come with a fire-breathing dragon. She felt she was cheating on Kagutsuchi and was almost certain the others had similar sentiments about their Childs.

Somehow she knew exactly the boundaries she could push the weapons to before they were rendered non-functional. There hadn't been anything certain or impossible with her Elements. They drew power from her and she – from them, with the Hime star the main catalyst. The heat she felt was only physical and had nothing to do with the inner flame that made her the Fire HiME.

Mai turned towards the others, curious how their new weapons worked. Searrs had put an incredible amount of time, money and effort into crafting devices which seemed out of this world.

Yukariko pulled the bow string of her weapon and it began making noises as if a million gears were shifting inside of it. She released it towards a round target at the far end of the fairly lit room. A shaft of blinding light flew towards said target and made a narrow hole in it, leaving a black spot on the wall behind. The Sister gasped, while Midori whistled and clapped.

Shiho hesitantly picked up a long flute and neared it to her lips. Her fingers set, she softly blew. The result was a gust of wind so strong that it almost blew away the heavy table with the weapons, along with the scientist. His glasses had cracked even before the wind came. Shiho crossed her hands.

"So the nun gets to shoot laser beams, while I can make wind with a whistle?"

Natsuki snorted from somewhere behind the group. Mai couldn't help it and bit her lip in an attempt not to laugh out loud.

"A strong sound wave, if you need to know, Munakata-san," the man took off his glasses and looked at them with regret. "We cannot do much about the weapon's form. We tried to copy your Elements and use technology to mimic their nature. The tech just draws out your original power, nothing more."

Mikoto swung a sword, which was very close in appearance to Miroku, minus the creepy red eyes. She didn't need a tech-heavy weapon though, Mai reasoned; Mikoto handled a sword magnificently. It just needed to be more sturdy in order to do some damage against the Orphans' platings.

"Minagi-san's, Himeno-san's, Fujino-san's and your weapons are engine-powered. They generate energy by utilizing the air that is guided in that engine and boost the power and speed of the swing," Mai heard the scientist explaining to Midori, who was gripping a labrys very similar to her original Element.

"So simply put, the more I swing it, the more powerful it gets?" Midori spun the weapon above her head and it made the sound of a spinning turbine. Fumi was also doing test-swings with her scythe.

Something very cold flew by Mai's head and she felt as if her cheek had iced-over. She spun around to see that Natsuki was standing near the door, aiming a sniper rifle at her.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Mai screamed at her 'friend'. Natsuki lowered the weapon and tapped the aiming scope.

"This thing was off," she explained to the scientist, who rubbed his chin. "If I hadn't fixed it, I would've blown Mai's head off, instead of hitting the target."

The bracelets around Mai's wrists started spinning and the Fire HiME made a lashing movement with her hand that produced a crimson fiery whip. It licked the ground close to where Natsuki was standing. The latter looked impressed.

"One day I'm going to poison your food. With toxic wastes," Mai threatened as she wearily watched Natsuki pull out two small hand-guns and aiming them at the target.

Four shots followed and the target stood frozen. Finally a shotgun was picked up from the table and while still walking, Natsuki fired an icy shard, breaking the target to pieces, which scattered on the ground. The young woman put the shotgun back on the table.

"Not bad," she smirked. "Though I doubt I can make it shoot anything else than ice rounds."

"Most likely not," the man agreed. He clapped his hands. "Now, as we're all finished-"

"What about Yukino-chan?" Mai turned towards the person in question.

"Very regretfully, Kikukawa-san's power was meant for information gathering more than anything else. We tried in a thousand ways, but we couldn't reproduce anything like it," the scientist heaved a sigh. "Though we can offer her all of the Searrs-developed computer programs for information gathering and espionage."

Yukino smiled shyly.

"I'd appreciate that. I think I can be more than useful behind a computer, instead of being in the front lines," she admitted, her posture revealing confidence in her abilities.

At the sound of the sliding door, the HiME turned aroud. John Smith and a couple of agents waltzed in the vast room, darkening the mood of the group. They had briefly forgotten exactly why they were given such advanced technology. The head of the Japanese branch of Searrs's operations regarded them with a standard half-smile.

"I see you're all comfortable with your Searrs gear. Now I can finally introduce the next step of the plan to you lovely ladies," he stepped next to a console on the wall and a map of the world flashed in front of their eyes.

First it focused on Japan, with two dots lighting in red.

"Kyoto. Touya lake, Hokkaido," he began. The map expanded again, now moving to Russia. "Nazarovo, Siberia," it shifted to the Apennine Peninsula, "and Rome, Italy. These are your destinations for now."

"Excuse me?" Mai narrowed her eyes. "Are we going on a cruise or something?"

"On the contrary, princess Mai. This will be anything but a leisured trip." Photographs of the places popped out on the screen. "As you can see for yourselves, the destructions in Kyoto and Rome are crippling. The only reason Nazarovo and Lake Touya haven't been attacked is because they are rather small in size. Individual files of the people you'll pick up will be sent to the Orion."

"The Orion?"

"The Orion," Midori took the initiative this time, "is a fancy name for a _very_ fancy SUV. It's like a spaceship, but it runs on petrol and can't fly."

"Well, can it float?" Natsuki crossed her hands, raising a brow. "Cuz I don't see how we're gonna get to either Hokkaido, or the continent with a shiny car."

"I'm sure you'll figure something out," Smith smiled. "You'll have plenty of time to explore the abilities of the Orion."

"I'm curious whether it has the ability to fit so many people," Fumi motioned towards the HiME. "Are we supposed to ride on the roof?"

"And now we come to the next point of the plan. Not all of you will be going." He paused at their shocked expressions. "We cannot spare more than one vehicle and we're already giving you our best. Some of you will be needed here, to keep the Orphans' attention away from the small team, which will be in charge of recruiting the rest of the HiME. Only four people can depart from here."

The HiME exchanged troubled looks. It was up to them to decide who was going on a practically suicide mission to recruit their other comrades. It was a short discussion.

"The ones going will be Mai, Midori and myself," Natsuki announced. Smith seemed surprised.

"And the fourth one?"

"I would like to request the recruitment of doctor Sagisawa Youko," Midori stepped forward. "She is somewhat familiar with the situation and has knowledge on the girls' past medical history."

"Sagisawa Youko," Smith mumbled. One of the agents leaned in and whispered something in his ear. "Sagisawa Youko is currently working at Fuuka General Hospital. She will be sent for at once."

"FGH?" Midori turned to Fumi with a reproachful look. "Did you fire her? She'd never leave the students!"

"No, she left not very long after you disappeared," Fumi gave an emotionless answer. It didn't seem Midori believed her.

"Also, another thing," Natsuki cut in, completely inconsiderate of the boiling conflict. "I need a bike. I don't care how short-staffed and under-equipped you are. We're leaving one more of our own behind to protect this facility."

Smith was still smiling, but he regarded her with coldness. "Very well."

Natsuki gave him a perky smirk. "I'm glad we speak the same language, Smith. Something else we need to know?"

"Just to be ready for anything and to report back your every step. No matter how unimportant something may seem, if it even smells suspicious, I demand it reported." He didn't leave place for negotiations, so the HiME only nodded.

"Mr. Smith," an agent spoke, "Sagisawa Youko is en route."

"Then you'll be leaving in an hour. Make your preparations."

* * *

Natsuki looked at the Orion and her reflection stared back at her impressed. The SUV was a beautiful designer's work – the body looked as if it was coated in mirrors; the vehicle looked slick and...

"Huge," Mai mumbled from beside her. "How are we supposed to go around unnoticed in this monster?"

"If we can run over Orphans with this, I don't care if we're easily spotted or not," Natsuki shrugged, admiring the tires and the sturdy, but elegant body of the vehicle. She wondered giddily if it had any weapons equipped. With mirth, she discovered that there was a bike in the back.

She could hear Midori and Youko arguing somewhere behind her and she felt a bit guilty. After all, she had made the request for Youko to join them, much to Midori's discomfort and protests. Natsuki trusted the doctor and she didn't want Searrs dumping some stranger on them at the last moment. It was still hard for her to believe that Smith let them leave unsupervised for such an important mission, even if she was sure that the Orion was bugged. She needed to be careful what she said while inside it.

"Natsuki-san?" Yukino approached her from behind and she and Mai turned around. "May I speak to you about something. It's somewhat personal."

Natsuki was surprised by the request, but followed Yukino nevertheless. They stood a few meters away from everybody. Fixing her glasses nervously, Yukino leaned closer to Natsuki and started talking in a hushed tone.

"I know we're being listened on, but I need to tell you this. Before I came here, I talked Haruka into going to Kyoto to find and keep an eye on Fujino-san."

Natsuki's brows rose. Suzushiro Haruka was anything but the subtle and spying type. Though she appreciated the action immensely. She was desperately trying not to think about Shizuru at the moment. The possibility of her falling pray to the Orphans made her lose all the little will to fight she had left. Haruka being there gave Shizuru a slightly bigger chance of survival. Probably.

"She should have found her by now, but since comms are cut, I..."

Yukino's eyes started to water and Natsuki put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll keep an eye out for her, too," she promised. "But understand that if we waste too much time in Kyoto and don't find her..."

"I do. I do know what needs to be done," Yukino sniffed and straightened. "But, please, Natsuki-san."

Natsuki just looked at her with the most reassuring expression she could muster and nodded. She also wanted to save as many as her friends as possible. However, not everyone could be found on time. Her situation was rather ironic; if Shizuru hadn't been a HiME, she would've been among those easily discarded and Natsuki wouldn't even have the opportunity to help her.

"We're leaving," Mai pulled her out of her thoughts.

The ones remaining in Fuuka stood a distance away, sending them off silently. Natsuki took one last look at them before boarding in the back. Mikoto looked like a different person from back then when they had met during the Carnival. Her hair was longer, her figure more feminine and her eyes held the understanding of what lay before them. She knew this wasn't going to be as easy as what they had faced before.

Yukariko had become a mother. This guaranteed that she would give her all to protect her child and husband, no matter how scared she might be. Shiho, on the other hand, had nothing and was a wild card. But Natsuki sure wasn't taking her along, considering Mai was on the recruitment team.

Natsuki was glad Fumi and Yukino remained in Searrs HQ. They were hard to fool and were quite reliable when push came to shove. Without Mashiro Fumi had developed a stiffer personality, but was still as caring and thoughtful as before. And Yukino was smart. Sometimes too smart for her own good.

Thinking that the atmosphere was too grim, even for her taste, she lifted her hand in a curt wave and let her trademark smirk grace her lips. They needed to be more confident, otherwise Searrs would make the most of their weakness, regardless that they were temporary allies now.

Mikoto smiled back at her and then her eyes shifted to Mai and they glossed-over.

_Why are you so worried for the most powerful of us, little idiot? _Natsuki shook her head and turned to look at the two grumbling women who climbed in the front.

"Welcome to the HiME wagon, Sagisawa-sensei," Natsuki greeted. "You'll also be our driver of honour from here on. We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but you are needed to help us save the world again."

Youko turned towards her, visibly irritated and confused. "I expect a detailed explanation as soon as we depart, Kuga-san."


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N:**_  
_**Greetings! I've decided that I'll upload a chapter every weekend (if I can), so expect updates either Saturday, or Sunday. **_

_**Moving on to the received reviews and follows. Thank you very much! I'm glad you like what you've read so far and I hope I won't throw in big disappointments in the future. Since there weren't any problems addressed last time, I'll go to the comment about the Avengers. Now that I look at what I've written so far, I feel kinda ashamed. *deep sigh* This really does look like the Avengers, doesn't it? *bitter laugh* But it's not. I wasn't thinking about them while writing. In fact I wasn't thinking about any movies or TV series. *hint hint* Anyways!**_

_**A small remark about this chappie: just informing that the steering wheel in Japan is on the right side of the car. Keeping this in mind will help you follow some of the story's conversations better, I think.**_

_**Any other questions you may address in a review or a personal message - it's fine for me either way. It's all for your enjoyment! Also, I'm sorry for typos and gramos. I won't get offended if you drop the story because they are too much. Cheers!**_

_**Let's get on with this. **_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

Natsuki hungrily dug into another rice ball, while Mai calmly chewed on hers. Midori was sipping some kind of beverage from a flask, her attention obviously elsewhere.

"I see you're well-prepared for a Third World War," Youko commented, her eyes flickering to the back seats. There were three more seats (separated by a narrow isle) behind Natsuki and Mai, but they were pulled down in order for the black motorcycle, the medical kit, and the other HiME's weapons to fit. Between the two young women could sit another person.

Natsuki nodded and swallowed her food. She had completely forgotten how hungry she was. For the past day her stomach was tight with worry and anticipation. Having been pulled out of her boring daily life in such a manner had taken a toll on her. It lead her to the conclusion that she needed to train more – something which she had neglected for the past two or three months.

"How much did Searrs tell you, doc?" Natsuki asked after taking a big swing from a bottle of vitamin rich water. Youko's mood visibly darkened.

"Well, my shift had just ended when those agents came marching in the hospital. I remembered their insignia from the time they raided the school's campus in search for the HiME. After that it wasn't hard to put two and two together. Everybody had seen the reports on Orphan attacks, it was just that the majority of people didn't know what they were," she fell silent for a bit. They passed a car-crash sight. "When the men approached, telling me I needed to go with them, I knew it had something to do with you HiME.

"The outlines of the mission were disclosed to me on the go. I wouldn't mind to hear details about it from you."

"When we get to Kyoto, we'll explain more thoroughly."

"Hmm. Sometimes I wonder if letting me know was a good idea."

"We're sorry, Sagisawa-sensei," Mai smiled apologetically. "At the time we had no choice but to entrust you with our wounded. If we had left Nao-chan or Shizuru-san unattended, they would have surely died."

Youko's brows furrowed, but she kept her eyes on the road. The corners of her mouth lifted up a bit.

"I'm glad you deem me so trustworthy. Though I'd appreciate if you keep in mind that I'm not a magician. Don't get yourselves all thorn up." Natsuki didn't need to look at the doctor to know that her eyes were fixed on her via the back mirror. "Last time you managed to make yourself into quite a work, Kuga-san."

"I was feeling artistic," the perpetrator mumbled and received a blow on the arm by the fuming Mai. They glared at each other. "What? You also got your ass handed to you a couple'a times!"

"I didn't taunt a psychopath, while being surrounded by enemies!"

"That doesn't count! I was buying time for you to take down that insanely strong Child!"

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm the only one from the HiME who can fly," Mai narrowed her eyes. "I was the only one who could do it."

"So was I," Natsuki consciously had to stop her hand from going up and touch her scar. "It was just a set of unfortunate events. This time it's going to be the same. And Hell's gonna freeze all over if I choose safety instead of doing the right thing."

"Sometimes staying safe is the right thing," Midori's interjection surprised them. "We don't have our Childs with us now. We've lost our irreplaceable partners thus we're bound to make mistakes combat-wise. What I'm trying to say is that you two tend to rush the problem head-on. This time we're more vulnerable than ever, even if we have assistance from Searrs."

Mai and Natsuki shared a look and shifted uncomfortably, choosing not to continue with their banter. Midori was right, as much as they regretted admitting it.

Natsuki looked out at the forest surrounding the empty road they had taken. She supposed most of the roads in the country were as empty as this one. Fuuka, at least, had barricades at its biggest transport passage-ways, not letting anything in or out the immediate premises. If people started evacuating on their own accord chaos would ensue. Not that they had a safe place to evacuate to, thus the heavy security. It was the best the Self-defence Forces could do at the moment, she mused.

"So... Kuga-san-"

"Natsuki's fine."

"Natsuki-san, then. What did you do after you left Fuuka?"

"Well. That's uh..."

It was going to be a long trip to Kyoto.

* * *

Natsuki was reading through the files Smith had ordered sent to the Orion. Her eyes narrowed displeased at the display of the small computer on the back of Youko's seat. What caused her reaction was that in addition to the three HiME – Shizuru, Nao, and Akira – there were five more names belonging to people she'd rather not meet. Two of them were Alyssa and Miyu.

The Multiple Intelligencial Yggdrasil Unit and the young Alyssa Searrs had gone missing soon after the final fight against Yumemiya Arika – another name on the list. The little girl and the battle android had successfully aided the HiME in destroying Arika's Child. In fact, if it hadn't been for Alyssa's Artemis, there would've been no chance in slamming the other satellite-like Child into the newly-appeared Hime star, effectively destroying it.

According to the information, the three were in a Searrs facility in Russia. But they were going to be dealt with later, after getting Nao. Who, of all places in Japan, had chosen to hide on an island inside a lake which, on its part, was inside another island – Hokkaido. And if Searrs' information was correct – something in which Natsuki was almost certain – along with Nao they needed to pick up a girl who went by the name of Wang Nina. Natsuki had met this Wang before; she remembered with mirth that she managed to wipe the floor with her last time.

That girl had been an aid assigned to Arika and they had both worked for sabotaging the HiME. Fortunately for the latter, they were used to paying attention on what happened in the backstage. Long story short – Yukino knew who worked with who long before Nina had tried to stop the HiME from moving on with defeating Arika. Nina's attempt to catch Natsuki and Mikoto by surprise (before they departed to the Searrs base to gather info and then level it to the ground) had utterly failed, even if she had back-up in toll.

It seemed like Searrs had stationed those two, despite their less than remarkable achievements, to keep an eye on Alyssa and Nao. And Natsuki was perfectly fine with that – she would have done the same thing. Also, Nao and Alyssa weren't stupid. The last dossier was what worried her. The person stationed at Kyoto.

"We're nearing the city," Midori looked at the satellite map on the front panel and pointed towards a red dot on it. "This is where Shizuru-san is supposed to be."

The place didn't seem familiar to Natsuki, so she just nodded, making a mental note of it.

"How do you know? Comms are blocked country-wide," she asked, even if she already knew the answer.

"Searrs has its own satellites and ways to keep communications up. The last report we received from one of our agents was clear she was last spotted in that area," Midori confirmed her suspicions.

"Do you know who reported that?"

"No. Why?"

"Did you bother to look through the dossiers?" Natsuki felt her anger reaching a dangerous point. She always had trouble in managing those feelings and if judging by the warm hand on top of hers, Mai was also very much acquainted with that fact. Natsuki didn't look at her.

Midori turned towards her with a perplexed expression. "Is something wrong with them?"

"You'd bet something's wrong!"

Mai's grip on her right hand tightened. Natsuki pulled it away and was startled when she did so without any resistance. She looked at Mai. Her friend was sitting quite away and was watching her with alarm.

Natsuki's eyes darted to her hand and she noticed a faint glow from under the bandages.

"Of all the people they could put in charge, it had to be that psychopath!" She continued, hiding the source of light hastily. This didn't go unnoticed by Mai. Midori was looking at her spot's own computer; she cursed out loud.

Natsuki gulped. She couldn't let Midori know about the shard, or at least not while they were in the Orion. A throbbing pain started making itself known by gradually spreading from her palm up to her elbow.

"Are you okay?" Mai leaned in closer and Natsuki replied with a curt nod and pushed her away.

"We are almost there," Youko announced. A sudden realization hit Natsuki.

"Stop the Orion!"

"What?" Midori incredulously asked. "Why?"

"Let's split up," Natsuki blurted out in a rush. Then, she tried to make herself sound reasonable. "That way we'll be harder to find. If one team fails to reach Shizuru, the other might be able to make it. Then the team with Shizuru on it will help the one stuck in a pinch and we'll make a run for it."

She noted in the back of her head that she had completely left Haruka out of the equation. Searrs didn't need to know her intentions.

"What about-?"

"If we have time. Besides the information is pretty accurate. It's safe to assume they're fairly close to each others' locations."

Youko pulled over and turned around. "This might turn out more dangerous than it sounds, Natsuki-san. Are you sure?"

"I think this is better than all of us serving our necks on a platter."

"I'm of the same mind," Mai glanced at her.

_What are you doing? _Her eyes said.

_Trust me? _Natsuki managed to smile back. It turned out a bit strained, but it seemed to do the job.

"Fine," Midori conceded with a sigh.

* * *

The doctor obviously wasn't comfortable with riding a bike, Natsuki observed. She had the woman's arms tightly wrapped around her waist and she felt that if Youko could, she would wrap them another ten times. The old houses and the occasional Buddhist temple zoomed passed them as Natsuki had chosen to take the more narrow road leading to the city.

In truth, she hadn't proposed this idea just so that they would be harder to spot upon entering the city's premises. It had occurred to her that the pain in her arm meant something. It was highly doubtful it had responded to her flaring anger. As they took another turn it became stronger.

Natsuki hoped it wouldn't impend her driving skills, however this bike was very easy to control. Riding it was like a dance, not like stirring a lifeless machine. Still, she missed her old Ducati. The one that she had gotten from Yamada, not the cheap rip-off she was forced to ride later. She made a note to try and contact her old informant when she had the chance.

Suddenly she found herself taking a turn into a dirt road and felt the doctor's breath hitching. She kept driving forward, pebbles sent flying away from under her bike's tires. The machine came into a swift stop in front of another temple.

Standing on the gravel Natsuki and Youko observed the wooden building. Like everything else on their way there it was deserted, though only recently. The air was chilly and the scent of white cedar trees served as a peaceful background.

Natsuki instinctively reached for her guns in their shoulder holsters, but decided not to pull them out unless absolutely necessary.

"Natsuki-san," Youko dismounted the black bike and stepped next to her. "Why did we come here?"

"There's something that Searrs didn't tell you, doc. Actually, they don't know about it and I've kept it secret from Midori too."

She took off her bandage and heard Youko gasp. Hell, she would've gasped as well if she hadn't expected it: the shard's surface was rippling and the dark-blue lines coming out of it were giving off a dim light. They looked longer than last time.

"This is a part of the artefact we lost yesterday. The other two parts are with Searrs and the other HiME," Natsuki explained as she started ascending the small flight of stairs in front of the temple. "A shard got stuck in my hand and I couldn't pull it out."

Youko followed her silently, her eyes fixed on the strange object.

They stopped at the entrance. Natsuki looked around. The statue of Buddha smiled at her benevolently from the far end. She ran up to it.

The air around it was tense and it was as if it was vibrating. The pain in her arm was replaced by numbness. She reached forward and touched the statue's face. Youko behind her called her name in alarm.

Red eyes were looking at her, just like before. The Hime star was far in the distance, shining brightly as Orphans of all sizes crept around in. This time Natsuki wasn't as surprised as before; she started searching. She was certain that those... visions had a purpose. Whether it was to help the HiME or kill them, she was not sure yet. However if she could find something, anything related to the location of the Star... If they destroyed it, the Orphan invasion would stop.

There was no guarantee that the Star was anywhere in their world though – if it were, the HiME would be able to easily sense it and see it. Their powers would be back. Natsuki took a step and felt as if an invisible force was trying to push her back. Her walk upon the nothingness she was standing on was short. The Eyes followed her struggle until she fell on her knees. Her hands lifted to her ears; the screams were getting too loud. She felt a jerk by the collar.

Fighting the urge to spill her lunch out, she let Youko pull her up in a sitting position. The hard wooden floor was cold under her sweaty hand's touch. The shard continued to emit a soft glow, which was the only thing Natsuki could see clearly.

"Do you feel nausea? Does your head hurt?" Youko's calm professionalism managed to put her at ease and she shook her head. The doctor sighed in relief. "What was that? Another artefact?"

Natsuki looked at the smiling statue. It was still in one piece and she was pretty sure it was not the same as the thing in her palm.

"No," she answered with a rasp and pushed to get up. Stumbling to her feet, she continued. "I'm not sure why the shard reacted, but this Buddha is not something out of our world. This place and statue are pretty much human craft."

"Another mystery, I guess," Youko mumbled and walked close to Natsuki as they headed back outside.

"There's a landslide of questions right now and no shelter with the answers to hide under. I hate groping in the dark for solutions."

"Are you fit to go? I think you should rest."

Natsuki looked at the doctor. She had already mounted the bike and was waiting for the older woman. Truth be told, she wasn't feeling top-notch, but was good enough to drive. Besides, they had wasted too much time already.

"Mai and Midori will be waiting for us. I'm sorry for the detour, but we needed to know more."

"Will you tell me about what happened?"

"Later, when we get the others."

* * *

Mikoto was stationed on guard duty with a small team at the North entrance of Searrs's main facility in Fuuka. The facility itself was situated mostly underground and the upper part of the building was mostly vacated, except for the guards. Her team was in charge of protecting the laboratory, where the scientists were studying what was left of the artefact and...

_Brother._

Reito had willingly offered himself to Searrs in hopes to be of use in this fight. With no First District to follow his commands, he was just valuable as the host of the Obsidian Lord. He had submitted to psychological and physical tests without hesitation showing in his eyes. It was the right thing to do, he had reasoned with his sister.

Nevertheless, Mikoto loved her brother and no matter what the others thought, she couldn't accept what he was being put through. She didn't trust Searrs with his safety, but they had no choice. The weight of her longsword on her back reminded her that they needed to cooperate with Searrs at least until they defeated the Orphans and stopped their invasion. She still found it hard to believe, though, that Mai and Natsuki had known and had told her nothing of it, while the hated organization had put so many resources in stopping the destruction of the world.

A buzzing voice from her comm device informed her that her shift had ended and it was time to change places with Akane. Then Mikoto was going to receive their half of the artefact – the HiME had agreed to pass it on to each other, so that it wouldn't be the responsibility of just one of them to guard it. Mikoto was happy with that decision. She didn't trust Searrs with playing fair and having one advantage over them was always welcomed in her book.

In truth, she was itching for a fight. She needed to relieve the frustration that had accumulated around all the recent ordeals. The Orphans being back, her brother being held as a guinea pig, Mai and Natsuki going off without her right into the fire... She didn't like the feeling of anxiety. What she craved for more than anything else was the reality she would never have.

All was quiet when she and Akane met up and she took the piece of black stone. It was heavy.

Mai was gripping her seat, her face pale. Midori had just rammed through the barricade that was set on one of the main roads. Luckily, there were no casualties, but what was more surprising was that the Orion remained unscratched.

The Self-defence Force apparently hadn't noticed them and Mai contributed it to the reflective nature of – what she just discover was – the Orion's shielding. That, and the fact that the Self-defence Force was short on people, unprepared for the threat for the Orphans, and were hardly expecting a nearly invisible SUV ramming through them.

The roads of the ancient Japanese capital were full of abandoned cars, the most of the citizens having been evacuated to other more well-protected areas. Midori pulled off in irritation. The huge vehicle couldn't pass through the small spaces; even if they used it to 'move' more violently the cars out of their way, by the time they reached a wider road, the Orion would be quite roughed up.

"Natsuki?" Midori spoke, pressing a finger to the comm device in her ear. "Do you copy?"

Mai waited with anticipation. Something had been wrong when the four of them split up; she was concerned that Natsuki might have made a rash decision in trying to help. Mai hoped that they would avoid big trouble for now.

"_We're five-by,"_ her friend's voice rang in her ear. _"Took a longer road, went flying by the small patrol on the outskirts. Ten to fifteen minutes till we reach the designated area."_

"That is if your death machine can fly. We're proceeding on foot from here on."

"Any signs of Orphans?"

"Negative," Midori paused and licked her lips. "I think they're most likely targeting Shizuru-san's location – the citizens are already evacuated. But that place might not be a priority right now."

Natsuki cursed from the other side and cut the line.

Mai was already picking up Shizuru's heavy naginata and climbed out of the SUV. She watched as Midori hid the Orion in a smaller alley and the two set out in a run.

"Mai-chan," Midori panted, while stopping to confirm their direction. "All of that earlier... was it only because Natsuki is worried that Shizuru-chan is involved?"

"I... I suppose so," Mai lied. "Natsuki's a very private person, even if we're friends. It's very hard to understand her at times."

"Hmm..."

They had set off again. White puffs came out of their mouths; Kyoto was unusually cold for this part of the year. The dark uniforms Searrs had provided them with proved to be very suitable for the weather and were light and easy to move in. And they provided additional protection against bullet-like projectiles, as the HiME were briefed before departing. Also, the small pockets all over the jackets were stuffed with what-not, Mai had discovered with interest.

Still carrying the naginata, she pushed off the ground and soon was hovering above the lower buildings. Her bracelets were spinning with a buzz, emitting heat and fire sparks from time to time. She looked ahead at Kyoto University's main campus. It was swarming with the Orphans Natsuki had described to them. Mai hurried to land in front of Midori and gravely informed her what she had seen.

"So I was right..." Midori checked her labrys's small engine. "How bad is it?"

"They're crawling around the grounds and I can imagine that they have managed to infiltrate the buildings. I don't want to think about the slaughter..."

"At least the ones at the facilities at the moment are the ones in charge of the preparations of the entrance ceremony in a month. Which still makes a big part of the professors and the heads of the student organizations," the scientist stomped her leg and cried out with exasperation. "Why does she always need to be so responsible?!"

"I don't think this has to do with her wanting to be of use to people," Mai sadly smiled. Even if she wasn't that close to Shizuru, she could imagine the young woman was burying herself in work not because she liked it.

Midori eyed her for a moment.

"Can your trinkets support two people in the air?"

"Long enough for me to choose where to crash-land."

* * *

The nightmare was continuing for a second day. Or third. She wasn't really sure. They were hiding here for the past day in hopes that somebody would come and help them. When the reports of attacks had come in, it was already too late. The monsters had appeared at the gates of the university and killed the guards instantly, even before an alarm could be sounded.

Shizuru was inspecting the school equipment needed for the festival that followed shortly after the start of the academic year. She was filing with well hid boredom through the inventory, while listening to the captains of the numerous clubs telling her what they planned on doing this year. As any other event in this campus, this one also needed to be organized to be close to perfection, thus the task of being one of the supervisors was given to Shizuru.

She was going to be a third-year from next semester which only meant that her workload would increase. That didn't make her unhappy, though: she liked busying herself with whatnot only to be kept occupied. Her free time consisted of sleep and taking care of her daily needs. Otherwise, she was engrossed in studying, helping out at her family's company, training with her fellow students in the Weapons Martial arts club, or doing work for the Student union. Staying idle for too long resulted in her thoughts sneaking to places she'd rather keep behind heavy locked doors.

When the Orphans appeared Shizuru was just handing the list to one of the many people who had self-appointed themselves as her assistants. Hearing a spine-chilling scream coming from not too far from them, all the students whipped their heads in its direction. Shizuru's eyes widened as she saw one of the monsters she thought were gone for good. The shocked stillness in the air was broken when the cross-breed between a machine and an organic form of life opened its huge mouth (suitable for a 7-metre-tall creature) and screeched, three thin tongues shooting out of its mouth, striking the nearest humans.

_Where is the Star? Why don't I have my powers? _Shizuru was glued to her spot in a brief moment of horror, as she realized that she was completely useless without her Element and Child. She called on to Kiyohime desperately in her mind, but didn't receive the response she expected. Her Child was silent.

"Into the gymnasium! Now!" She roared, pushing into action the terrified students and the present facility staff. "Close all doors and windows!"

As the people ran inside the building dutifully executing her orders more Orphans unknown to Shizuru just appeared. They were walking on two legs, reached the height of nearly two metres and were almost humanoid, if not for the fact that the number of eyes differed. The limbs were long and some were bladed, others were replaced by spiked forearms, tentacles; one thing the creatures had in common between themselves was that their mouths all stretched from ear-to-ear, though they didn't really have what Shizuru would call ears. And what was most terrifying was that they seemed to move faster than the Orphans the HiME usually combated.

With a total of twenty students and six staff members, the gymnasium's first floor was quickly secured. They had no time to check on the upper floors.

"To the underground levels!" Shizuru stood next to the staircase leading towards the lower floors.

"We'll be trapped in there!" One of the students cried out, tears streaming down her face. Worried looks were thrown Shizuru's way.

"There are no windows down there, thus a slimmer chance of... those creatures entering. If we manage to barricade all doors, we'll buy ourselves time until help arrives!"

Helplessness washed over her and she felt her hand on the handle tremble. The most she could do was organize the small number of people and hope that the Self-defence Forces would arrive in time to save them.

_That is, if other parts of the city or country weren't hit. Then, they would throw us away in favour of the greater masses of people, _she bit the inside of her cheek in frustration. _Why can't I feel my powers?_

With the doors barred, they were all holed up in the Iaido club's dojo. Wooden swords and Japanese swords were lined diligently on shelves and the smell of the tatami mats managed to calm Shizuru down a bit. They had barred all the doors leading to the small club-room with anything they could find and were exhausted. Most of the students were looking at their phones' screens, or more precisely at the bars indicating their connection to outside. The network was blocked and they had received no news over the internet. It was as if they were trapped in a vacuum.

"Does anybody have a special physical condition that would require daily medical attention?" Shizuru finally broke the silence with her controlled light voice. All of the present shook their heads negative. "Good. If something important arises, don't hesitate to speak of it. Every club room has a toilet and a first-aid kit, so we should be alright for the time being. Also, please refrain from talking. We don't know how well those creatures can hear."

_It'll turn out fine, _she tried to convince herself as she looked at a aesthetically written calligraphy scroll on the wall. _If an Orphan doesn't dig its way from under us, that is._


	5. Chapter 5

**_Welcome to another installment of_ Jump Drive_! I'm your host _oncoming-traffic_ and would like to thank you for the kindness of sparing some time to read my story. I kindly thank you for the follows and reviews! А special thanks to _TwiddledSpire_, who keeps giving me ideas. *wink* Now I may be vaguely considering to maybe inlcude something like robes in the story._**

_**Onwards to this chapter! As always, it has not been beta'd, so if you notice anything highly disturbing in terms of grammar or spelling, feel free to point it out. About the content; I wonder how many rage-comments I would have received if there was no Shizuru in this chapter... However, predictably, I did include her. Together with her appearance there will be another batch of exhausting action, so my apologies if I've managed to screw things up. **_

_**Another thing; when I first uploaded the story I listed it without any hesitation as 'Action/Supernatural', but it occurred to me today that there might be people expecting vampires and such, because of the 'supernatural' part. Not that I've received a comment or a PM about it, just wanted to make sure that there won't be any warewolves, fairies, etc. I simply consider the Orphans as supernatural beings, but due to the language barrier my understanding may as well be mistaken. So if it is, I'd like for the native speakers to lend a hand and tell me, as to avoid confusion. **_

_**And now, moving to the content itself. Enjoy!**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

"Did the doctor title came with some additional kilograms?" Mai asked through grit teeth as she struggled to keep in the air both herself and Midori. She was holding her companion in front of her, beneath the woman's arms. The bracelets were spinning faster than earlier and Mai feared that they might break any moment.

It was hard for Midori to turn around and glare at her, but Mai felt that she tensed and almost felt the reproachful look.

"You're also carrying Shizuru-chan's weapon and my own, if I need to remind you!" Midori protested at the insult. "And I'll have you know that... God dammit!"

They now had a clear view on the Orphan-infested campus. It seemed the Self-defence Forces had seen the dead bodies of a few students and faculty members and had given up on trying to rescue the rest, deeming them already lost. The cold truth was that the number of people tipped the balance and in this case it had worked against Shizuru. If there still were any survivors, they had been abandoned.

The size of the creatures varied from estimated two to ten metres. And they were everywhere. The rooftops, the parking lots... Mai narrowed her gaze at what she thought to be the five-story gymnasium. Next to what were clearly human corpses, there were traces of a couple of dead Orphans as well. She could think of only one person on the premises who could have done that, but she was most likely unarmed. And as much as Mai respected Shizuru's strength, she highly doubted that the woman had taken out the monsters with her bare hands.

Natsuki and Youko were just entering the city, so it couldn't be them. Mai couldn't believe that a security guard would have done that. She shared her observation with Midori.

"We should have it in mind when we storm the building. Though don't be so sure Shizuru-chan's the only one who can take out an Orphan. Remember who reported her location."

Mai gasped at how forgetful she was. A spike flew past her head and she knew they had been spotted.

"Cover your head! We're going in through the window!"

The heat from her bracelets had started flaring with flames already. While speeding at the nearest window on the fourth floor of the gymnasium, Mai hoped that Midori hadn't noticed that her jacket had caught fire.

They crashed into the corridor, sending flying glass everywhere. The flames on Midori's form had died thanks to the roll they landed in. The archaeologist stumbled to her feet and swiped the glass off her person.

"Do you smell something burning?" She asked as she picked a small piece of the window from her pony-tail. Mai vigorously shook her head negative and also picked herself up. "Hey! There's an open window next to the one we broke through!"

"Uhm..."

There was a growl from behind them. Midori's labrys was swishing above her head in a matter of seconds.

* * *

Youko lay on her stomach and was looking through binoculars at the university campus. They had stationed themselves at a multi-storied parking building not too far from the Orphan hotspot. The doctor was counting the number of Orphans while Natsuki was tweaking with her sniper rifle's scope.

"Twenty and still counting. Though... wait a second. At the entrance of one of the buildings... there are traces of killed Orphans. I can't tell how many – there aren't enough remains for me to determine that. It would help if we were closer though."

"Remains," Natsuki mumbled as she shuffled next to Youko, propping herself on her elbows, her weapon in front of her. The other woman gave her directions and soon she was also looking at the evidence that Orphans had been killed. "I hate to admit it but for somebody who's not a HiME, the bitch sure can hold her own against those monsters."

Natsuki inspected with extreme caution the visible sectors of and around the building. It was the gymnasium where Shizuru was reported to be hiding in. She chewed on her lip as she counted four more singed black spots. They were all around the gymnasium. She followed with the barrel of the weapon an Orphan which was nearing the building and her finger slowly embraced the trigger.

Two shots later and there was another explosion, leaving only parts of the monster scattered around on the burnt ground.

_So that's where you are._

Natsuki shifted her scope towards a majestic in its design clock tower. Despite that it wasn't that tall, it provided a good sniping spot. She smirked when she saw the shimmering light reflected by what was surely a weapon very similar to her own. Though it wasn't nearly as awesome as hers, she inwardly gloated. A strange strangled noise escaped her throat as she had a glimpse of blonde.

"Seriously?" She grumbled and shifted her attention elsewhere. "Okay, change of plan."

"What plan?" Youko asked in a flat tone.

"The psycho's in the clock tower, shooting at Orphans with something like a sniper-bazooka thingy," Natsuki explained nonchalantly. "And she has company up there with her."

"A what?"

"A sniper with a very big calibre. If it can punch a hole in an Orphan's plating it should be quite something. I mean, it would still take three to four more shots to take it down, but that's a very powerful weapon." She paused. "Funny how the Orphans haven't blown them up yet. They're practically sitting ducks up there."

"Shouldn't we be glad?"

"Uh, yeah. For at least one of them."

"So what's the change in the plan?"

"After we've secured Shizuru, we'll go back to help those two escape. Because no matter how big a gun they have, they need time to reload it. After they aid in getting Shizuru out of there, the Orphans' attention will shift to the clock tower and they'll be overwhelmed by numbers."

"And how exactly do you plan on helping them out?" Youko's voice was dripping with pessimism.

"One of them flies away with Mai, while the other comes with me. Simple."

"And the Orphans will just let us leave?"

"Shush! It's starting."

As the doors of the gymnasium burst open, Natsuki opened fire on the Orphan nearest to the group of people that stormed out. Her ice bullet pierced it in the back of its neck and it exploded instantly. Without a moment's hesitation she shot another round at a second monster, which also went out in a blaze. And another one.

She didn't need to reload manually – it was the same as her Elements. Though it was clearly tangible how the bigger the round, the more energy was drawn from her. Her power didn't feel infinite and bounded only by her body's physical restrictions like it had been before. Natsuki could actually feel a pull in her chest every time she squeezed the trigger and a long silver ice bullet was sent towards a target.

The group of people was progressing slowly, but unharmed towards the exit of the campus. Midori and Mai would deal with unexpected attacks dirt-side, while it was Natsuki's job to clear them an escape path. It seemed that the other sharp-shooter was also bent on crippling the Orphans' lines. And it was all going smooth for now.

Natsuki tried not to distract herself by checking whether Shizuru was indeed with the people being evacuated. She had heard Mai earlier confirming that their friend was alive and well (despite being tired), but the urge to see it for herself was still pricking at her. Though now she had to concentrate on bigger problems. Literally.

"This is going to take more than one bullet to kill!"

* * *

"_You've got a huge one in-coming!" _Natsuki's shout resounded through the comms over the commotion and all of the chaos. Mai swiped at a crawling insect-like Orphan with her fiery whip splitting it in half. _"I'm gonna try and put it down, but be prepared for trouble on your end!"_

"Isn't there always?" Midori shouted from behind the group of running civilians. She was guarding the rear, while Mai and Shizuru – now gripping her new weapon – were at the front and on the look-out for attacks coming from the sides.

Shizuru almost froze to her spot at the sound of Natsuki's voice. She knew that Natsuki was there, but actually hearing her brought back feelings she had pushed back for the past two years. However, there was no time for reminiscing as another Orphan burst out in flames and a part of its limb flew towards one of the students; Shizuru received the blow with the flat part of her newly acquired weapon's blade. She sent it flying back from the direction it had come from with a practised arch swing. Her hands trembled from the impact and she almost dropped the naginata.

In truth, Shizuru wouldn't call it a naginata, as the blade was wider and looked a bit like that of a halberd's. It seemed it could also extend like her Element and there was a small engine just under the blade. As this put more weight on the upper part of the weapon the need for something to balance it arose; that was accomplished by another, slightly bigger cylindrical device at the end of the pole. Shizuru could safely assume that it also had some sort of power-boosting function. All in all, the gadgets, while giving her an edge, made the weapon heavier than what she was used to. And it seemed Midori was experiencing the same problem, as her swings, albeit powered by the integrated technology, were beginning to get a bit clumsy.

The boy she had just guarded looked at her with gratefulness and admiration which she hadn't seen in the eyes of her usual fans. They gazed at her with adoration, seeing only an idol-figure, a perfect woman: smart, beautiful, caring, working for the society. His eyes were different. She was sure she had looked at Midori and Mai the same way when they had came storming into the club room. After two of the humanoid Orphans had broken the door along with the barricade to shivers.

When hearing the first violent blow against their only defence, Shizuru had jumped to her feet, swaying a bit from the lack of nutrition the past days. With her vision blurred with black spots, she rushed towards the nearest to the entrance katana sword. Terrified looks were glued to the door as it burst in pieces just as Shizuru pulled the blade out of its scabbard.

A shriek shook the whole room and a few trophies and photos of the club members fell from the shelves. Nobody screamed. The air was so thick with fear and horror, that Shizuru had to will herself to move from the strike one of the creatures sent to her face.

She managed to dodge it by sliding the blade along the side of the striking limb. That managed to slightly redirect the trajectory of the blow and left an opening for counter-attack. Shizuru, now driven by the sheer determination to survive, took the opportunity and expertly jabbed the sharp steel between the monster's platings. Once it was deep enough, she twisted her whole body in order to pull it out while slicing the torso of the Orphan. All her muscles cried in protest to the exertion, unwilling to convert her intention to reality.

Still, the Orphan screeched and stumbled back. Prudently, Shizuru let go of the katana and dived for another one. A blow to her abdomen caught her mid-jump and sent her crashing into a wall. It was the other Orphan.

Her body slammed against one of the shelves and she felt all of the air in her lungs painfully forced out. She lost sight of her surroundings as her whole being burned with agony from the impact. In that moment, slumped on the ground and the taste of copper in her mouth, she thought those were her last moments in this useless limp shell of hers.

That's when the room behind the Orphan towering above her burst in flames and it spun around to face the new threat. Even half-conscious, Shizuru had to admire the agility the creature possessed for something so sturdily built and covered in nearly impossible to penetrate armour. She heard a blood-curdling shriek before an explosion knocked a few more objects from the shelves. The people had finally come to their senses and were screaming in panic.

Shizuru tried to move, but all she could accomplish was to twitch her fingers and she let out a low groan. Next thing she knew, somebody was picking her up. The face of her saviour belonged to a person she thought was lost in some excavation site in a godforsaken land. Sugiura Midori gave her a strained smile and pulled her up to her full height. Shizuru struggled to say something, but instead started coughing.

Another explosion nearly managed to push her off her feet, but Midori was still there holding her upright.

"All done!" Mai announced from behind the flames now licking the ceiling. The tatami mat was burning with ferocity. "Let's get you guys out of here while the first floor is still clear of those monsters!"

Shizuru watched still in a daze how the Fire HiME rushed the survivors out from the room. Her unfocused eyes dropped down to the three burnt corpses and her lip trembled.

"Not your fault." Midori gave her a squeeze on the shoulder. "We must go before we end up like them."

"Yes," Shizuru mumbled and took a step over one of her dead fellow students. The smell of burnt flesh drove her mind to places she tended to visit only in times of great despair.

As soon as they had ascended the stairs a heavy long wrapping was shoved into her hands. She was prompted to open it up at the quizzical look she sent the two women. When the fabric fell to the floor, her eyes went wide.

"I know you must have a million questions, but for now we need to get you and these people out of here," Mai managed a smile. Shizuru didn't fail to notice how worn-out her friend looked or how her clothes had burn marks. It also didn't slip away from her that both HiME were bearing the Searrs symbol.

"Yeah, for a good part of them we still don't have answers, though," Midori scowled as she observed the situation outside. She turned back towards all of them. "Listen, people! We're going to get you out of this mess. All you have to do is run and follow our orders! Am I clear?"

Slow nods of recognition followed and Midori forced a grin, one hand on her heap and the other holding her labrys. All she needed was her old red cape in order to revive the legend of the forever-young hero of justice. She approached Shizuru and Mai and spoke more quietly.

"You two take the vanguard position, but be weary of attacks coming from the sides," she turned towards Shizuru. "To quickly fill you in: we're not doing a mindless jump into the chaos outside. Natsuki will provide us with cover-fire from a building not too far from here. According to her, we'll be receiving additional help. Your job is to keep an eye out for surprises. I know you're tired, but we need to pull this off."

"I understand."

"Then, shall we?"

* * *

"Their numbers don't seem to be growing," Natsuki commented while blinking sweat out of her eyes.

"Isn't that the purpose of shooting them down?" Youko asked from her position beside her. She had taken up the task to be on the look-out for Orphans coming from outside the university campus.

"I expected reinforcements. Not that I'm complaining."

She observed through her scope how Mai lured the big Orphan out of the group's way and delivered it a finishing blow. Just to be sure, Natsuki fired a round towards the falling giant's head. The follow-up managed to knock Mai out of the air and on the ground, however she was quickly heaved up by none other than Shizuru. The instant Natsuki caught sight of the familiar hazelnut tresses, she hurried to find a target to shoot.

The group had already reached the missing gates. Natsuki jumped to her feet and shoved her sniper-rifle in Youko's hands. As she mounted the bike she pressed a finger to her ear.

"Mai? Ready for another round?"

"_Say what?" _Her friend's terrified voice buzzed. Natsuki revved the engine and madly drove down towards the road. As her tires screeched the pavement, she sped towards the group of people with burning tires. She came to a sliding halt on the side-walk.

Mai, who was at the very front of the group glared at her. Natsuki focused all her attention on her.

"What do you mean 'another round'?!"

"Haruka and the psycho are up there," she lifted her finger towards the clock tower.

"What?" Two incredulous questions came simultaneously.

"If we don't get them out of there _now_, they will be swarmed," Natsuki stressed, her eyes fixed on her panting and nearly burn-out friend. "I'd do this alone, but I need somebody watching my back. Preferably, somebody who can handle mid-to-close range combat and can fly."

Mai's shoulders slumped and she sighed defeated, closing her eyes. When they opened again, they fixed Natsuki with a stare that promised her certain death. Later. Natsuki smirked confidently, despite that she was trembling with fear inside. What terrified her weren't only the left Orphans looming in the background, but also the fact that if she survived, she probably would have to face a problem which she very well couldn't shoot. Without serious consequences, that is.

The civilians ran past them, Midori following them closely behind while on the ready to fight off any attack coming from the Orphans which were not too far behind. Natsuki pulled out her shotgun and fired two rounds at the nearest one's leg. It fell to the ground with a screech and then she proceeded to shoot it in the head. After some persistence on her part, it succumbed to its fate with a deafening sound.

"Now that the Orphans have us where they want us we can start a counter-attack," Midori's eyes flared at the idea to take the challenge to finish off the remaining creatures.

"Midori, Mai and I will go in. You take the rest and go back to the Orion! Be ready for departure as soon as we get back," Natsuki's expression clearly said she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. "Two people will be enough for this extraction. Also, the civilians..."

"Are fine as long as we're _here_," Midori glared. "They're after the HiME, not normal people!"

"I know! But then why did they attack huge cities where there are obviously no HiME?" Natsuki raised her voice, her patience wearing thin. She could feel Shizuru's eyes on her and was very careful not to meet them. "I'm not nearly as tired as all of you and I doubt Mai and I will encounter trouble!"

Both statements were a lie. Natsuki felt quite drained from all that shooting and wasn't so sure that their small mission would be a walk in the park.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, we need to get those two until more Orphans have arrived. We still have time!" She turned to Mai. "Hop on! We're taking a short-cut."

* * *

Shizuru watched expressionlessly how the black motorcycle sped away from them and cut right towards the clock tower, while dodging a few well-aimed attacks. She could hear Mai screaming her lungs out. All the Orphans turned their attention towards the duo cutting right across the no-man's-land. A tug on her arm made her turn her eyes towards Midori.

"We'd better get our asses out of here before the Orphans have realized their target is slipping away," the archaeologist gave her a small smile. "And I think Natsuki-chan plans to take down as many Orphans as possible, even if she didn't say it. Pity we'll miss the fireworks."

"Yes," Shizuru mumbled as she gripped her naginata and turned to follow Midori.

They took off in a slightly faster run than before, quickly catching up to the group of scared students and university staff. Youko came panting out of a building nearby and headed towards them, while carrying what looked to be a sniper-rifle. Shizuru barely had energy to spare on being surprised that she had also been dragged into this mess.

"I heard everything over the comm! Are they crazy?" The doctor was now running alongside them. "Are you two alright?"

"Feeling ready to face another wave, if we have to!" Midori grinned, all sweaty and covered in soot. Youko lifted a brow at her friend's antics then turned towards Shizuru.

"I'll live," she managed a smile.

Suddenly the group came to a halt at the wide road they had just reached and the HiME had to push their way to the front through the people who stood frozen. Midori narrowed her eyes at the incoming vehicles.

"_Now_ they decide to come?"

"Who?"

"The Self-defence Force," she took a step back. "Time for us to disappear. Come on, I hid the Orion in a nearby alley."

Shizuru wordlessly followed, too weary to question whether this was really for the best. The black vehicles were steadily moving in from the nearest big thoroughfare.

"Fujino-san!"

She turned around and found all the people she had spent the last few months with staring at her with lost expressions. In reality, she couldn't remember any of their names now and didn't want to know what they expected her to do.

"Forget about this," she heard herself say, while feeling that her fake smile was in place. "Go with the soldiers and forget the past two days. You'll be fine."

With that she spun around and went after her two companions' disappearing forms.

She clutched the naginata's pole tighter, feeling nails digging into her palms. Shizuru had never felt so out of things. First came the Orphans, she nearly dies, then Mai and Midori waltz in bringing hope for survival and an escape from the hell. Instead, all the facts point towards that her peaceful days are all but over and she is given a new weapon (branded Searrs), which makes it more than painstakingly obvious that she will have to fight again. The tower holding her emotions was nearly leveled with the ground when she heard and afterwards saw Natsuki. Who had acted as if she didn't know her and didn't even spare her a glance, going on and on how she was going back into that hell to pull out Haruka. Another little detail Shizuru wasn't aware of.

Her feet kicked away fish cans and all kinds of other garbage, scattered out of the overturned containers on the narrow alley. Midori, who was at the front, slowed down and finally stopped, as she started to fumble in her pockets.

"Don't tell me you lost the keys," the iciness in Youko's voice visibly made Midori tremble.

"Here they are!"

Midori victoriously held them up in the air. Shizuru tilted her head to the side – she had no idea what those keys were for, though she suspected they had something to do with this 'Orion'. Then she took a closer look at what was in front of them and she honestly was impressed. She hadn't seen the glassy SUV at first and doubted that she would have noticed it if she hadn't known she was looking for something. The vehicle was of an impressive size, supported by three pairs of solid tyres which looked like they could run on lava without a problem.

As she made herself comfortable on one of the backseats, while Midori and Youko were at the front, a monitor on the front panel flashed to life.

"_I managed to hack the surveillance on the campus just now," _Shizuru had no trouble in recognizing Yukino's voice. _"There were disturbances with the satellite connection and it kept falling apart."_

"Yeah, we also had a hard time with keeping in contact with each other," Midori spoke, her demeanor shifting to a more serious one. "Youko, Shizuru-chan and I are in the Orion, waiting for team Demolition to come back with a surprise package. Do you happen to know exactly why Haruka is here?"

"_I sent her as soon as Mai-san contacted me the morning she reported she had seen an Orphan," _Yukino replied after a short thoughtful pause. _"Since we couldn't get a hold of Fujino-san, I asked Haruka to go and look for her."_

Shizuru closed her eyes and leaned her head on the soft cushion of the seat. Was this, as everything else the past two days, her fault as well? Her gut tightened and she let out a soft shaky sigh.

"_I'm sorry. I was the one who asked Kuga-san to look for Haruka-chan..."_

"I get it, fine," Midori grumbled displeased. "Just don't expect it to slide past Smith."

"_I won't. Now, I'm putting through a visual from the available cameras. I'll erase all data from the university's serveillance server meanwhile."_

"Copy that."

Shizuru fixed her empty stare at the monitor and watched from several angles the unfolding destruction. Even if it was according to what Natsuki had suggested and there were indeed no Orphan reinforcements, their numbers were still formidable for two HiME left without their Childs. The recording was playing out in a fast-forward, hurrying to catch up to the current moment.

The only thing Shizuru could see clearly that Natsuki went into the clock tower while still on the motorcycle. A minute later they both came out, though not from the entrance. Actually, when she looked closely, it wasn't Natsuki and Mai who had jumped from the top of the tower. It was the latter, though she wasn't alone – she was holding a familiar blonde in a very awkward way. Haruka didn't seem pleased that she was hanging head-down, held only by the ankle, over a horde of Orphans only a few meters under her. And it looked like Mai was struggling quite a lot to keep them both in the air, judging from the low-quality feedback the Orion was getting.

It reached real-time.

"_Start the bzzzzzt! Headzzzzzt out!"_

"Got it!" Youko slammed her foot on the accelerator and the SUV shot out from the alley with burning tyres.

Now Shizuru's attention was fully on the screen. There was static disrupting the image and she had a hard time telling apart Orphans from the flying duo. Her eyes flickered to the sudden movement at the entrance of the tower. The bike, now with two people riding on it zoomed out of the tall building. The figure riding on the back, her back pressed to the driver's, was unmistakably Natsuki's. She was holding something (Shizuru assumed it to be some kind of firearm) which was aimed at the entrance.

The person in charge of controlling the bike and dodging all attacks coming from the front and the sides was somebody Shizuru knew. There was no doubt about it, even if the cameras were providing them with very poor visual.

Natsuki took a couple of shots before Tomoe Marguerite made a sharp turn to avoid a stream of acid spat their way. An explosion went off on the ground floor of the clock tower. As Shizuru watched it collapsing on the Orphans around it, they lost signal.

_No! _

Next Mai's angry roar burst through the Orion's comms. It was clear of static.

"_I hate you!"_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Sorry for the delay. I'm posting this in a bit of a hurry. I was on a week-long trip, which will have a big impact on the story. I messed up some stuff geographical-wise. I'll need to revise some of the narration in later chapters, so the update next time might be also late a bit. **_

_**I'd like to thank to all the reviewers and people who have shown interest in this story. You really make me want to write. Please excuse me if there are pleiads of mistakes this time around as well. I can only do this much with my current language abilities. **_

**_I thank_ EliteSky _for the help with the genre-rating and for giving me an opinion on it. And I still can't express how happy it makes me that you kind people are showing such interest in this story. This serves as a huge motivation to keep trying to write._**

_**Moving on to this chapter. It's a slower one, with a part of the much needed explanation. If you don't understand anything, point it out and I'll gladly explain either via an aouthor's note in the next installment, or by a personal message. There are still things I've purposefully not revealed, and which are kept secret in order for the story to move forward. **_

_**Sorry if this seems unintelligible, but I haven't had a proper rest in a week, so I'm high on caffeine. Have fun with reading!**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

After driving north-east for nearly six hours through the mountains, the Orion turned down a barely visible in the dark dirt road. Natsuki and Tomoe followed on the bike. They had changed their driver-passenger positions somewhere along the way. With so many people inside the SUV, Shizuru reasoned, there was no space to fold the seats and make room for the big machine and another two people. Though she was sure this wasn't the only reason. The quiet engine was shut off and she heard Youko sighing, resting her head on the steering wheel.

Midori was going through some kind of data Shizuru couldn't imagine deciphering; the woman had been at it for hours. Mai and Haruka were snoozing off on the seats behind her with the occasional mumble.

The two had literally flew in through the open door as the Orion was speeding away from the city. Mai had almost immediately fallen unconscious, not before she had assured Youko that she was just drained and otherwise fine. Haruka, also looking exhausted, didn't even start shouting and demanding answers, which had doubtlessly surprised them all. She had just sat quietly for a while before also succumbing to a restless sleep. Most likely she had been trapped, much like Shizuru, in the clock tower for the past days.

They shifted in their places, their blurry eyes opening when the black bike pulled next to the Orion and its rumbling ceased. Midori was the first to step out into the cold evening air, holding a bright flash-light. Shizuru didn't feel like moving at all, however she reluctantly slid out through the door on her side. When her feet touched the grass her head started spinning and she had to grasp for support.

"Are you two alright?" She heard Midori asking. "We were worried after that last stunt!"

"Comms got fried during the mayhem," Natsuki answered in a barely audible rasp. "After that I thought it pointless to stop before we'd gotten far enough."

Shizuru straightened and took a confident step forward. Even if Youko had told her there was food in the vehicle, she couldn't bring herself to eat a single bite, thus now she was no better than a rag-doll. Her eyes turned towards the light illuminating the group of three not too far from her. Tomoe had dismounted and was rubbing her neck with displeasure written all over her face. Midori kept talking to Natsuki who was still leaning on the handles, as if not being able to let go.

"I have to ask though. How'd you get to the top of that tower while on the bike?" Midori sounded genuinely impressed. Even without looking, Shizuru could tell Natsuki was smirking when she answered.

"Used the elevator. Quickest way up. Had to get those two out ASAP."

"I hope you're not expecting gratitude on my part, Kuga-san," Tomoe sneered at her, shaking her teal-coloured hair out of her eyes. Natsuki glowered back at her.

"If I weren't on orders from your shitty organization, I would've left you to die. Though I am... indebted to you for keeping all those people safe. Let's call us _even_ with that."

Tomoe didn't need to say anything, for the narrowed glare she sent Natsuki held a clear message. They were frozen in a silent battle for a few moments before the former slowly stepped back.

Shizuru watched Tomoe sauntering towards her, without missing Natsuki's dark glare directed their way. Not wanting to confront her most... dedicated fan she spared her only a nod and a polite smile. It seemed they were enough to keep Tomoe away for now.

Natsuki clumsily slid off the bike and lowered the crutch. Her hands resting on the seat, she suddenly slumped to her knees. Midori knelt beside her, though didn't try to help her in any way.

"You're as burnt-out as Mai-chan," she simply stated with a scowl. "We could've pulled over earlier, you know. Why didn't you say anything?"

Shizuru couldn't hear the reply. Her heart ached only by seeing Natsuki in such a pitiable shape, however her body wouldn't move. She couldn't bring herself to approach more than she already had. The wall between them at this point had gotten too tall and she felt that neither could jump that high.

"Fool." Midori pulled herself up. "And if we lost you in a road accident just because you were tired, what then?"

She didn't wait for a reply and stomped off to the SUV. Youko was quietly talking to Haruka and Tomoe, while they were pulling out various supplies. Shizuru was left alone with Natsuki, who was still motionless. Slowly she shifted with a groan and now her back was against the motorcycle. As the others lit up more flash-lights Shizuru was able to have a better look at Natsuki's face.

The first thing she noticed was that the scar running down from the corner of Natsuki's right eye to her jaw line hadn't healed. Her hollow-cheeked face had a paler complexion than Shizuru remembered and it seemed that this took away some of Natsuki's aura of self-confidence. As a whole, the dark-haired beauty was a shadow of her healthy self from two years ago.

One thing was the same though. Even if they were deep-sunken, the always expressive green eyes were as vivid as ever. They way they fixed her nearly made Shizuru take a step back. Then, to her utmost bafflement, Natsuki grinned so sincerely it made her forget for a moment that they had ever parted ways.

"Shizuru," the familiar way her name rolled out of Natsuki's lips was nostalgic. The ease with which she addressed her was so natural. "Good to see you in one piece. Glad we made it in time."

"Yes," Shizuru lowered herself to the ground and sat.

She wanted to say more. The need to scream at Natsuki for ignoring her earlier and treating her like a stranger was overwhelming. It was Natsuki, not her, that had made it clear that _they_ wouldn't work out; that had made no effort to stop her from leaving. Again, it was Natsuki who had given Shizuru hope only to tear it away from her heart later. It was the same Natsuki that left a huge hole with her disappearance and made Shizuru feel like a complete fool for starting to believe the lie that _it was all going to be okay_. And after two years of rebuilding herself from the mess she had become, her Natsuki came back bringing fire, ruining all her efforts by just calling her name.

So, she asked herself, what right did that person have to be smiling at her like that? How _dare_ she tear her walls down with one glance? How could she act like nothing had happened between them?

Instead, she said, "Me too."

"I'm..." Natsuki sneaked a glance at the others. "I'm sorry you were kept in the dark, Shizuru. It all happened so fast and... We barely had any time to react."

"Though I see you spared no time in allying with Searrs," Shizuru's eyes flickered to the emblem on Natsuki's attire. The latter bristled up and her jaw tightened.

"And that's all we are! We are just using each other. I..." she leaned forward and made to get up, though she just managed to collapse face-first in the grass. Shizuru trembled with the need to rush to her side, but instead watched her friend lay there.

"Without our full powers, we can do little to stop the Orphans. There's... no choice," Natsuki pushed herself up on her elbows and observed Shizuru who was doing her best to keep an impassive façade.

"Which brings forward the questions of exactly _why _we don't have our powers back when the Orphans are already here."

"And as much as I'd like for all of us to rest, we'll need to talk about this now," Midori came back carrying a box of supplies. Worn out and grim, the others followed her quietly and sat down around the two.

"Yes, I'd finally like some answers," Haruka spoke for the first time, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"And you'll get them, Suzushiro," Natsuki had her legs crossed and was leaning forward with her hands on her knees. "Though I think we'll have a hard time choosing a place to start, since all of this was kinda unexpected for us too."

"No, Natsuki," Midori was imputing something in her tablet, her eyes reflecting the blue screen. "We knew this was coming, but you chose to ignore the threat."

"We destroyed the Star twice!" Natsuki defended her decision with ferocity.

"You heard those creatures declaring they would be back!" Midori shouted back. "It was broadcast through the entire facility you were sent to shut down! You made sure nobody survived, but Searrs already knew!"

"Too bad I didn't succeed back then," a dark look was cast at Tomoe whose lips pulled in a sneering smile. Midori was up in seconds, gripping Natsuki by the collar.

"You acted on your own back then. We hadn't agreed on killing those agents! They were _human_ for crying out loud!"

Youko's fingers wrapped around Midori's wrist and the two had a brief silent conversation before the latter let go of Natsuki. Shizuru knew that the facility Natsuki and a few others had gone to had been utterly destroyed, but she had thought it an accident.

"At that time the declaration that the creatures like Obsidian would return again was just an act of desperation. Words of a loser. There was no proof that they could pull it off after the Star was gone again. And if word of it got out, Searrs would have conducted a manhunt for the HiME. We couldn't have handled it! We were tired, powerless..."

"But Searrs chose to let you walk," Tomoe interjected. "Even with knowing that the Orphans would return, we chose to stick to research until the time was right."

"It was Searrs who summoned the Star in the first place!" Mai, now looking more rested, but not much better, fixed Tomoe with enmity. "If you hadn't played around, there wouldn't have been a second Carnival. Searrs invited the Orphans two years ago."

"This time it's different," Midori attempted to cool down the heated conversation by talking more calmly. "Searrs had no idea when the invasion would take place. They kept researching the HiME star, the Orphans, and those creatures. That's why, when this whole mess started, they were able to build our weapons overnight. It's because of that research that they came to know what kind of weapons would kill the Orphans. Only weapons that use a HiME's power can hope to do significant damage."

"What about the shotguns we used during the raid on the laboratory?" Natsuki sceptically inclined her head to one side. "Or that firearm Marguerite used to shoot off Orphans at Kyoto?"

Midori sighed with regret. "Just prototypes. The data and blueprints were lost along with the laboratory and the artefact."

"You sent a prototype to protect a HiME?" Natsuki's eyes narrowed. Tomoe visibly swelled with anger.

"It's more than you ever did! Or is running away like a coward sound like a solution to you?"

Natsuki was about to argue back, but then Haruka cut-in.

"So you're telling me Kuga, Tokiha and Sugiura _knew _and they chose to keep it secret? Why?"

Shizuru listened with a frown. Of course, she had known that something had went terribly wrong during the final confrontation two years ago, though every time she asked, a clear answer wasn't provided. And then Natsuki had come to her and told her there was no future for them, effectively making Shizuru forget the issue with Searrs. She had moved back to her city, attempting to forget everything that had transpired the past few years. Now, she could find no sympathy for the three who were struggling under the reproachful looks that were sent their way.

"Maybe it's time to tell you exactly what happened the night Arika's Child was defeated and the Star disappeared," Natsuki shifted in her spot. She picked up a bottle of water and took a big swig. Soon it rolled empty and forgotten on the ground, as everybody was listening to Natsuki.

* * *

Mai, Miyu, and Alyssa kept dodging the attacks Arika's Child was throwing their way, while Artemis was positioning itself in orbit, preparing to rain down destruction on the Searrs facility Natsuki, Mikoto, Nao, and Shiho were sent to infiltrate. Their task was to get rid of the data collected on the HiME and delete it from the Searrs servers' network before Artemis could 'clean up' after them.

According to the intel they had received, the facility was supposed to be with minimum staff during the HiME raid. Instead, the team of four had encountered a full resistance – soldiers and Searrs's new project, which was at the heart of the problem this time – the OTOME. Teen-aged girls with superior combat abilities, out of whom only Arika was in possession of a Child.

During the confusion, Natsuki had seen the chance to infiltrate on her own and had taken it, leaving the other three behind. They had already cleared the field from the Searrs soldiers and were now pretty much overpowering the two or three OTOME left.

After sneaking in, Natsuki had realised that her decision to solo the facility hadn't been very wise, but with the help of Duran, she had managed to clear up the hurdles, leaving behind piles of bodies. She had no time to be careful not to leave any casualties, like they had done with the rest of the forces outside. The designated time for when Artemis would fire its beam and destroy the building was nearing, so Natsuki had to hurry. Having no ways to contact the other HiME, she couldn't warn them that there were a lot of people still left. Most of them scientists.

_Combat trained scientists, _Natsuki put pressure on her wounded arm as she and Duran reached the main server room. She knew that in order to escape the facility she would have to pass through the part where there were still Searrs agents remaining – the tunnel she had come in through had collapsed. Even if Searrs had known about the planned raid, they would've had no ways of learning that the HiME planned to use Alyssa's Child to destroy this place.

And that was why they were trying to protect it at all costs. Natsuki had to act fast before another wave of agents came. Just as she was uploading the custom made viral program on one of the computers, she heard Duran growl from behind her.

"Kuga-san," Tomoe Marguerite, one of the OTOME, stepped forward, pointing a long spear-like weapon at her direction. Two more of the Otome project stood by her side. She hadn't bothered to remember their names – she didn't plan on extending their 'relationship' beyond that day.

"Marguerite," Natsuki's guns were already pointed towards the newcomers. "You're late."

"You think your petty virus will be able to take down the Searrs servers?" Tomoe leered, provoking another metallic growl from Duran.

"I don't know, we spent a lot of time and money on this bug. Besides, it'll just tweak data in the whole network. No point in telling your superiors now," Natsuki added when she saw one of the girls reaching for a communication device on her waist. "The program works fast. And now, I suggest you move out of the way. Soon there'll be nothing left of this place and if you want to live..."

Meanwhile, Mai and Miyu were keeping Arika and her Child very busy, giving the girl-agent no opportunity to report back to Searrs the HiME's plan. Their battle was taking place very close, dangerously so, to the artificially summoned Hime star.

Kagutsuchi, with Mai on his back, fired another fireball at the satellite Child, while Miyu clashed with Arika. It was almost time for Artemis to line-up with the facility and blast it to oblivion. Though Mai could see that the fight wasn't progressing the way they had planned – Arika was indeed more powerful than anticipated. And Miyu couldn't fight at full potential while carrying Alyssa. A new plan wormed itself in Mai's head.

She patted Kagutsuchi a final good-bye and flew towards the other fight. The strike she managed to land on Arika was enough to aid Miyu in her slight retreat. The android, while holding Alyssa, balanced in the air with the help of the small engines on the sides of her legs. Her pinkish orbs revealed a trace of confusion at what was unfolding.

While Mai had been keeping Arika busy, Kagutsuchi had grappled the Child-satellite and despite the damage he had received, pushed it down towards the Hime star. It was far too late when Arika realised her Child had been overwhelmed by Mai's and both of them were plunging down towards the Star in a suicidal attempt to destroy it. The young OTOME could only watch and scream in horror as her Child and Kagutsuchi collided with the enormous red star, resulting in a bright flash followed by an explosion.

A terrifying voice spoke as the Star disintegrated, but its words were unintelligible in the whole chaos. Though it did sound awfully familiar and Mai could clearly make out it saying 'back', 'humans', 'Orphans'... 'death'.

The Elements started disappearing from around her wrists, but Miyu caught her in time. Next she grabbed Arika and all of them started descending with a speed with which Mai wasn't very comfortable with. At least this time they weren't fighting in outer-space, however their altitude was undeniably frightening.

The Fire HiME's last thoughts before they hit the surface of the ocean were whether her friends had managed to get away unharmed. Artemis had of course also disappeared with the Star, but she wasn't sure her friends would welcome the sudden loss of their powers.

Natsuki took a step forward.

"Move. This place is going out in flames."

"Then I'd gladly surrender my life if it means destroying you," Tomoe calmly declared. This only managed to irritate Natsuki more.

"You fool! Why the hell do you hate me so much?! We haven't even talked once!"

"Because you were always the only one in Shizuru-san's sights! No matter how hard I tried, her eyes were meant only for you," she spat out. "And you kept ignoring her. You don't deserve her!"

"I can't believe this is all about Shizuru!"

In a sudden moment of terror, Natsuki felt a burning throb at the lower part of her back. She knew the sensation all too well.

A voice of one, and at the same time many, resounded through the facilities' speakers.

"_Humans, you have breached the balance. The Orphans were only the vanguard of your demise. Before us you are nothing. We will be back soon, bearing your death."_

"Duran!" She cried out, already feeling the weight of the pistols disappearing from her hands. "Load Silver Cartridge!"

Duran's cannons were pointed hastily at the three OTOME.

"Fire!"

At Natsuki's command, her Child discharged one final round towards the enemy group before it burst in green lights, disappearing. Poorly aimed, the shot managed to take out of the equation the two nameless OTOME, but Tomoe only ducked forward in a crouch. Seeing her chance, she attacked Natsuki. The blade of her weapon was thrust towards Natsuki's face and the girl could barely dodge the strike. Her attempt hadn't been entirely successful as her vision blacked out for a second due to the pain under her right eye.

Though the rest of her body already knew what to do and had lunged for Tomoe. The nature of the spear didn't allow it two fast consecutive attacks in such a short distance, so Tomoe was caught off-guard. Natsuki's fist connected powerfully with her opponent's nose, which cracked as Tomoe's head snapped backwards and hit the ground with a final thud. One of the machines near the entrance clicked a few times before bursting out in flames.

Dazed and with blood running down the side of her face, Natsuki stumbled to her feet. She dragged her feet to the nearest console. The screen was flashing with the data being deleted. The images and information was burned in Natsuki's mind through her widely open in horror eyes. They had known nothing about the Orphans. Everything was so much grand... And Searrs had known. That is why they needed the HiME so badly.

"No," she mumbled. "If they get the chance to contact their high-brass, it'll be over for us..."

With trembling footsteps she staggered in the corridor. There were dead or unconscious agents laying in her feet. She accidentally kicked something and lowered her eyes to see what it was.

If her Child had disappeared, so had Alyssa's. This meant that no aerial attack was coming. She could hear the running in the distance. More agents were en route and she was left alone, without her partner. Even so, it was her responsibility to make sure none of the information got outside of this building. Her heart was clenching at the thought of what needed to be done.

Natsuki picked up the gun and ravaged the dead bodies for ammunition. After sparing the burning server room one last glance, she set off to erase every Searrs in the facility. With the spine of the place's computer and information network already down for the count, it meant that only survivors could tell the organization's higher-ups about the transmission. Surely, the building (like any Searrs property) had a self-destructing protocol, triggered from a command room.

_This incident was Searrs's fault from the start! _Her eyes stung with tears she couldn't allow herself to shed. _Only if they hadn't interfered! _

The first agent to round the corner was shot in the leg and then between the eyes.

"Dead men don't tell tales."

* * *

"And now you know it all," Natsuki's eyes stopped on Tomoe. "I guess I failed in keeping that information secret, though."

"Yes, you had to murder all those people by yourself for nothing. And to think that there was supposed to be no one there," Tomoe mockingly sighed, completely ignoring the angry stares directed her way. "But I managed to get away and thanks to my report Searrs could prepare for the Orphans and look for more proof that there is a threat far bigger than them. Shouldn't you be thankful?"

"The second all this is over..."

"That would be quite enough, both of you." Shizuru had entered her President-mode, radiating authority with such ease as was breathing. "Now that we've a general grasp of the situation we should start searching for a quick resolution. I don't think we have more time before we are attacked again."

"That's why we're leaving tomorrow morning," Midori nodded. "If we keep moving, it would be harder for the Orphans to track us. Also, it seems their numbers aren't unlimited."

"Indeed," Mai straightened up. "I expected for them to keep coming until they overwhelmed us. While there were certainly a lot of them, none came to fill in the vacancies left by the ones we killed."

"And according to the reports we're receiving, the attacks on the bigger centres have let-up after the governments of the countries have deployed their heavy weapons against the Orphans," Midori kept scrolling through her data-pad. "This may very well mean they're regrouping somewhere."

"And this once again leads me to think they are moving with a plan."

"Who's controlling them?" Haruka inquired at hearing Natsuki's last statement.

"Ah, yes," the archaeologist put her device aside and regarded the whole group. "Everybody except Natsuki, Mai-chan and myself aren't aware of the artefact."

"Indeed you did mention some artefact," Shizuru tried to concentrate on the matter at hand, though her eyes kept shifting to Natsuki's form. What she had just learned made things make so much more sense now and it explained to some extent her friend's later actions.

Haruka, Youko, Tomoe and she listened to the story of the artefact that had been the starting point of this insane tale. Shizuru couldn't help but notice how Natsuki's posture changed the moment the object's destruction was mentioned. If not for years of friendship, Shizuru wouldn't have paid any attention to how her friend's gaze dropped to the ground and how she clutched her arm. A bandage was sloppily wrapped around her right hand.

"You let that happen to the artefact?" Tomoe's brows raised. "You're more incompetent than I originally anticipated, Kuga-san."

"You worm..." Natsuki growled out and Shizuru was sure that if she were feeling better, there would be nothing left of Tomoe in the matter of seconds. Though instead of backing off, the offender continued.

"Might I point out how much this worm has done the past three days? Neither Shizuru-san, nor her loud-mouthed friend would be alive right now, if not for me."

"Hey!" Haruka's indignant yelp was soon to follow. "Bubuzuke and I aren't friends! I only went to keep an eye on her because Yukino asked me to."

"Overlooking your clumsy job... No, wait. We actually can't overlook it," Tomoe crossed her arms. "You did a terrible job at spying on her and I was honestly surprised Shizuru-san didn't notice you."

Haruka, her desire to defend her honour stronger than her exhaustion, jumped to her feet.

"Suzushiro-san!" Youko had finally found the fitting moment to intervene. "I think emotions are running high tonight. Why don't we eat and have some rest?"

"I agree," Shizuru smiled calmly. "According to this tale, we've only started this long journey. For now, let us rest."

* * *

The weak morning rays greeted Natsuki through the misty mountain air. When her eyes fluttered open, she realized that during the night somebody had covered her with a blanket. She felt thankful for the gesture; she had fallen asleep on the cold ground not too long after they had finished their conversation last night. Her stomach loudly demanded food and she hoped that there was nobody near to hear the embarrassing sound.

Still laying on her side, she slowly unfolded the bandage around her hand. The stone reflected lazily the weak rays; it seemed as if it was absorbing them instead. The piece was embedded in her palm in such a manner like it had always belonged there, though it still felt foreign. The blue lines around it had gotten longer and were now reaching the base of her fingers. She wondered how long she would be able to keep this small detail a secret from Searrs.

Hearing movement not far from her, she quickly got to her feet. The sudden movement made her a bit dizzy and she had to blink a couple of times before she could observe her surroundings. The earlier movement appeared to be Shizuru shifting in her sleep. She was a good distance from her though.

Natsuki couldn't bear to look at her for more than a few seconds. Last night she had put on a strong front to put her friend at ease at least a little bit, but today... She had done something terrible to Shizuru and she didn't know how she could ever do her right. The feeling she didn't even deserve to be in her company made Natsuki quickly move away and head to the Orion. Inside, unsurprisingly, was Midori.

"Still researching?" Natsuki poked her head in through an open window. She silently admired the interior of the vehicle. Midori looked at her, deep shadows under her eyes.

"I still can't figure why the Obsidians waited so long to launch an attack after the last Hime star incident," she yawned.

"Obsidians?"

"I decided to dub them like that for now," the answer was accompanied by a shrug. "How are you doing today?"

"Better. Did you stay up all night? You're going to ruin your skin like that, you know. Turn into a wrinkly hag."

"Shut up. I'm still fine. I've graduated university, remember? All-nighters are my second nature," Midori managed a smile. "Did you need anything?"

"Now that you mention it," Natsuki hesitated a bit. "Could you come with me for a second?"

"Sure," Midori was fast to jump out of the vehicle. "I also relish the opportunity to stretch my legs a bit."

Natsuki took her to the side of the improvised camp they had put together last night. She absent-mindedly watched the sleeping forms of her companions. Mai, Haruka and Youko had huddled close to the supplies. Shizuru was closest to Midori and herself, with Tomoe curled up not too far. Natsuki scowled.

"We'll need to work together if we want to get this done," Midori quietly pointed out, tracing Natsuki's line of sight.

"I don't trust her," Natsuki admitted lowly. "She may be cooperating with us, but she's working for Searrs."

"Aren't I as well?" Midori nudged her playfully. Natsuki threw her a sideways glance.

"After some thinking... I know I can trust you. And... that's why I called you out here to talk."

"I'm honoured," the doctor's features softened in a relaxed smile. "Are you afraid the Orion is bugged?"

"Hell, I'm afraid _you're _bugged, but you need to know this," Natsuki started taking off the bandage from her hand. At the sight of the artefact piece Midori gasped inaudibly, lifting a hand to her mouth.

"Natsuki... How?"

"The explosion," Natsuki leaned towards the older woman and continued in a more hushed tone. "Though how I _got_ it is not important right now. What I want to talk to you about how we can _use _it."


	7. Chapter 7

_**Hello! *waves hands with an idiotic grin* Guess who's getting ahead of herself with posting another chapter sooner than planned. Though I do have an excuse. The factological slip-up I made in the next chapters wasn't that big of a blunder to fix, so that's why I allowed myself to upload another chapter now. **_

**_While writing these days I thought I should make one thing clear: this pitiful excuse of an author has always had trouble with Physics. Any and all events that seem impossible to accomplish in real-world circumstances are enabled here only because this is fan_fiction_. And because I can give the characters the needed power-boosts, because they're not normal humans and we were never really told how strong a HiME was. Bwahahahaha. The only occasion I recall of HiME battling normal humans was during the Alyssa-arc and they did a good job at thrashing trained soldiers. _**

_**Also, another thing I noticed is that I may be failing in being descriptive (among other issues). When I say that, I envision the fact that this fic lacks in terms of depicting details of the scenery and such. I'm trying to remedy that, but I don't know if it'll show.**_

_**A huge THANK YOU to all the reviewers and followers! I'm glad that I'm able to keep your interest and once again ask you to state your opinion if something/anything has bothered you in the story's plot or narration. I'm currently re-editing the older chapters and trying to clear the small mistakes I noticed only after posting. Your help and comments are much appreciated!**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

"Where are we headed now?" Haruka stuffed the last of the newly purchased supplies under one of the seats and turned around to look at Midori and Natsuki. The two were conversing quietly next to the biker's machine.

"North," Natsuki flexed her fist, adjusting a fresh bandages around her hand. She had opted to wrap both of her hands, since it did seem like she was hiding something. And she was aware that Tomoe was everything else, but not stupid. "If we take the roads through the heart of the island from here, it will probably take at least twelve hours. That's if we don't stop and move constantly. I'd say we'll reach Hokkaido in two days and if we're lucky, we'll be headed towards Russia with Nao in three."

Tomoe looked sceptically at Natsuki over the barrel of the weapon she was inspecting. It was a pump-action shotgun, very similar in design to Natsuki's, but was obviously just a standard firearm. It had been inside the Orion, most likely for emergency cases.

"And how are we supposed to swim through the ocean with the SUV?" She strapped it the weapon to back. "What if there aren't any free ferries to get us to Hokkaido? Or if we find the towns there more deserted than this one?"

Shizuru's eyes flickered to an empty sweets shop and she scowled slightly. They had been lucky to find a few working 24-hour convenience stores in order to resupply the Orion. Most of the town's people were either hiding or rushing to the airports to escape the country, even though that it was the same everywhere. What was surprising was that there weren't traces of Orphan attacks in this region.

It would be indeed troubling if they went all the way to the end of the main island and find out they had no way to cross. Searrs couldn't give them clear intel on whether the port-towns were heavily hit or not. It was as if the whole world was in an information black-out. It seemed Searrs was loosing their resources faster than expected. The only place the HiME had a clear connection with was the base in Fuuka, which remained safe for now. Yukino sent them bits and pieces of reports every hour or so, but it was nothing that could help them.

"I would actually have a plan, if your boss had left me with more than a 'you'll think of something'. We've no idea what we're dealing with here." Natsuki dutifully glared back at the tall Searrs agent. Mai was quick to step in again.

"We should be glad we're still alive and have at least a tiny chance of success," the Fire HiME put a hand on Natsuki's shoulder and Shizuru imagined herself in Mai's place. A few years back she was the one who calmed Natsuki with a single touch or phrase. But now... Now she couldn't see herself in such a position next to her head-strong friend.

"For now let's use the resources we have and get a move on," Midori jumped in the front seat. "If we stay long enough in one spot, the Orphans will sniff us out."

"Especially since we haven't bathed in days," Haruka pointed out crossly. Shizuru had to silently agree with her rival's statement. They needed to shower if they were going to travel cramped in a single vehicle. It seemed all were concerned about that, if judging by the silence that followed.

Natsuki had a thoughtful expression on her face for a few moments before she turned to Youko, who was already waiting in the driver's seat. Obviously she had an idea.

* * *

"I didn't exactly picture this when I said a bath..."

Haruka gazed on at the swift-flowing waters of the river they had pulled next to. It was just outside the town they had passed through. Tomoe and Natsuki dismounted from the bike just when the Orion's engine went quiet. Shizuru didn't like it one bit that Natsuki had been so insistent that she and Tomoe travel together.

"You're joking, right?" Tomoe's question and its intonation served only as a confirmation she already knew Natsuki was dead serious. "Couldn't we have broken in somebody's house? They wouldn't have minded."

"What do you think of a person's home?" Natsuki glared back, clearly against the idea.

"Do you expect me to jump in the lake just because you don't want to dirty your hands?" The spat continued.

"They are dirty enough, thank you very much. And yes – either do that, or I tell Searrs you died in an unfortunate accident. Eaten by a bear or something."

Tomoe managed to hold back her response, seeing that her position on the losing side was very secure. None of the HiME here would bat an eyelash to help their former enemy, of that Shizuru was sure. Though the problem of the temperature of the water still remained.

"We're on an adventure, right?" Midori's jolly interjection made the whole group turn towards her with surprise. The archaeologist had a big smile on her face, her hands on her hips. Shizuru's lips pulled up, as did everybody else's. The only person not bitten by Midori's optimism was Tomoe, who wasn't really used to the ex-history teacher's antics.

"An adventure?"

"Yes! Now everybody should get naked and splash into the water!"

As if still teaching at a school and giving a good example, Midori removed her clothes with a few quick moves. Shizuru was impressed with the ease and enthusiasm the woman displayed her...

"Get your ancient ass covered, you fossil!" Tomoe screamed, obviously not thrilled with seeing too much of the archaeologist. Youko coughed in her fist.

Shizuru couldn't resist the temptation and looked at Natsuki's face. As expected, it was already an unhealthy shade of red, despite that it was as hard as if carved of stone. Next to her, Haruka displayed her shock more freely, her jaw hanging. Before the roar of the infamous ex-Executive could shatter the idyll, Midori ran for the lake and dived in head-first.

"Mai," Shizuru heard Natsuki's voice. "Do we, by chance, have any towels?"

"I'll check."

"I don't know how we ever lost to you people," Tomoe reluctantly began to take off her jacket.

* * *

Shiho sat in the half-empty cafeteria with her unfinished meal in front of her. It wasn't that her food wasn't good, but rather that she had lost her appetite half-way through finishing it. She was looking at an old photograph she stubbornly kept close to herself at all times. Her younger self was clinging onto Yuuichi, both of them smiling for the camera. The photo was taken a year or two before the whole HiME business.

She put her chopsticks away and got up with the tray in her hands. After returning it, she strode back to her room. As her shift had ended, she wanted to get some much needed rest. And as for the real reason, she wanted to shut herself away and forget the encounter she had today with her brother. The way he had looked at her like he didn't want to breathe the same air as her. The disdain had come as fast as it disappeared, but Shiho had seen it. They didn't even need to talk. After all, they hadn't for the past two years.

Shiho had hoped that he would search her out after Mai had left him, but it didn't seem that was the case. She was disappointed. In herself, in him and most of all in Mai. Why, after all she had put Yuuichi through, did she leave him? Why did Shiho need to go through that much suffering to end up more miserable than she had been in the beginning?

She had been ready to give all of herself to Yuuichi, but he was too distant. He pushed everybody away and focused on his job; or that was his excuse. And it seemed he wasn't pleased at the least for being offered Searrs's protection.

When her door slid behind her she went straight to her bed. Laying down she once again realized that her whole existence was pitiable. Never had she felt so lost. She was dragged in a fight for a world she didn't want to be a part of. Was there any reason for her to continue struggling? At the end, her effort wouldn't be rewarded and she as sure wasn't it doing for the glory.

Too tired to continue her contemplations, she just closed her eyes. For now breathing was a reason enough for her to live.

* * *

The icy water didn't bother her. Or the fact that they were completely defenceless at the moment. Neither did Midori's insults directed at her very person for even suggesting they took a bath in a river during early March. It wasn't that cold anyway, Natsuki scoffed at the shaking finger which was pointing towards her nose. No, such trivial things didn't manage to bother Kuga Natsuki.

What made her feel on the edge was that she was close to a certain someone. A certain very much naked like herself someone. That someone was shamelessly looking at her, though Natsuki was doing her best to ignore those intense rubies. Instead, she focused on pulling a piece of she-really-didn't-want-to-know-what-exactly out of her tangled tresses. She was aware that Shizuru was just playing with her patience, curious how more she could push before Natsuki broke. The two had been friends for too long for Natsuki not being able to recognize one of Shizuru's favourite games.

To be honest to herself, she wasn't sure how she felt towards Shizuru at the moment. The overmastering desire to keep her at a distance had pushed all of her other feelings into a tight corner. That corner was now so crowded that it threatened to force the walls around it to crumble to dust. She didn't want Shizuru close to her. They just needed to finish this mission and get back to their lives. But truth was that for her there really was no meaning to life if Shizuru wasn't there. Natsuki had thought that she was strong enough to survive on her own without the beauty, but once she had gotten used to all the tenderness she had unconditionally received it was hard being left alone again.

It didn't help she had decided to go live in a different city. Her newly-found determination to dig a gaping pit between herself and the other HiME had instead made her weaker and she knew that. In blind hope she had thought that if the Child wielders weren't together in one place, the tragedies of the Carnival and the second Searrs attack wouldn't be repeated. After all, the killing had only begun after all twelve (or in their case – thirteen) HiME were gathered in Fuuka. She hadn't succeeded in keeping them apart the first time, so the moment she had exited the burning facility that fateful night when they had defeated Arika, she had decided on her new goal.

_Never let this happen again. No matter if justified or not – for the sake of those close to you any and all means will be used._

And she had really thought her efforts had paid off.

"You've gotten thinner," Shizuru's soft mumble pulled her out of her musings. Natsuki didn't turn towards her, instead choosing to watch the low mountain peaks.

"You know I'm not much of a cook," Natsuki wasn't sure where this attempted conversation was going. It wasn't like it had gotten personal all of a sudden, but Shizuru had always been weary of people around them.

_Wait a second._

She looked around them. Everybody had already ran back to the Orion, a good part of them cursing. So that's why Shizuru had spoken to her.

"Though Natsuki was the very picture of health when living alone in Fuuka," Shizuru continued, her voice steady as she was seemingly comfortable with being for so long in the cold water.

"You seem awfully concerned with my health," Natsuki finally turned towards her. She silently marvelled at how even more beautiful her friend had become. All child-like features had faded and replaced with kind of an edged charm, truly fitting for the stunning woman. And even though she gave off a certain graveness due to their predicament, Natsuki was sure that if Shizuru smiled sincerely she would simply shine.

The scoff that deepened on that sculptured face though, managed to pull her out of her reverie.

"And you on the other hand are awfully distant," anger flickered behind Shizuru's red eyes. "It was a simple question to break the ice between us. We've known each other for a while, after all. Maybe I was wrong in thinking we could try and be civil with each other. Now, I don't know why I even tried..."

Shizuru made to move, but when she started rising Natsuki's hand gripped her shoulder and kept her in her place. Natsuki stared wide-eyed at her hand, obviously surprised by the bold action as much as Shizuru was. They quickly pulled apart.

"I'm sorry," Natsuki whispered. "I'm sorry for pushing you away, for being so uncaring. I'm sorry I deceived you and made you suffer again. I'm sorry that after two years of not seeing you I ignored you and didn't offer you even friendly comfort when you needed it most."

"Natsuki-"

"I'm sorry for lying to you. And in the end – all for nothing," Natsuki swallowed back the lump in her throat. "But if it meant that this tragedy could have been avoided by doing so, I would repeat the same mistakes a thousand times if I had to."

"I see," Shizuru's expression had hardened once again. Anything else she had to say was interrupted by Midori yelling at them to get back to the Orion, so that they could be on the road.

"I really hope you do."

Natsuki waited a bit longer after Shizuru had left. Everyone was busying themselves with tasks surrounding the next part of their journey.

_This mission is bigger than any of us. Personal can come after we've killed every rotten Orphan out there._

And deep down, she knew she was terribly wrong.

* * *

For somebody who hated Tomoe, Shizuru thought, Natsuki was behaving very irrational by forcing said girl to ride with her. Though she had made herself quite clear before they had departed.

"I don't want you anywhere near the other HiME."

The Orion engine's quiet rumble was very relaxing, compared to the sound of the black machine driving next to the SUV. Shizuru spared a glance at the two scowling figures on it (neither wearing a helmet, for unknown reasons to her) before she turned her attention back to her fellow passengers.

Youko was again on the wheel, claiming that she wouldn't let anyone else drive. Especially Midori; who was in the middle of writing a report as far as Shizuru could see. As for Mai and Haruka, they were on the two seats behind her, each absorbed in their own thoughts. It was truly unusual for Haruka to be so quiet. As if noticing Shizuru was looking at her, she lifted her head and regarded her rival.

"No wonder you went insane last time, bubuzuke," she suddenly said. Shizuru couldn't find words to respond. In her mind, madness didn't justify what she had done one bit.

"I can only hope Yukino is safe," Haruka took a big swig from a bottle of barley tea.

"Last time we saw her, she looked fine, Haruka," Midori reassured her. "She's in one of the most well-protected facilities, with the rest of the HiME with her."

"And the rest of Searrs," Mai sighed and leaned forward. "Do we have any news from base?"

"Signal keeps getting weaker as we proceed north. It seems the Orphans knew much more about the position of the Searrs bases and satellites than it was anticipated," Midori sent her report. "Though we have a few secured channels, which are still usable. We aren't cut-off from the network, don't worry."

As if reading Shizuru's thoughts, a request resounded in the SUV.

"_Midori, do we have any details on how badly the Orphans have the world cornered?" _Natsuki's voice startled the archaeologist before she coughed and dug for info.

"The situation is quiet for now, it seems. Attacks on major centres have ceased and the Orphans have withdrawn. The armies and task forces are regrouping, readying themselves for the next wave. We don't know how much time we have. Last time nobody was ready, but do you think... do you think any of the standard military weaponry would work against Orphans?"

"_Please, every country's military has more in stock than they let on," _this time Tomoe had spoken. Shizuru looked at the two riding next to the Orion. She saw Natsuki's lips moving.

"_We're nearing a gas station. We'll stop for twenty minutes and then we're headed out."_

* * *

"They won't let me talk to you for more than five minutes," Mikoto stood on the other side the window of the room Reito was held in. He brushed his bangs out of his eyes and smiled at her.

"With good reasons, I think. They are running various tests on me, so I guess they-"

"Have they hurt you?" Mikoto slammed her palms on the glass. "Are you in pain, brother?"

Reito shook his head. "No, I'm in no pain. They are keeping their research within the reasonable amount."

"What exactly do they research?"

"I think that they're interested in how I was controlled by the Obsidian Lord," absent-mindedly Reito touched the glass where Mikoto's fingertips were. He smiled charmingly. "Shouldn't you be resting?"

"In a bit," she also smiled. "Three minutes. Let me stay with you for three more minutes."

"Nothing would make me happier right now."

* * *

Natsuki and Haruka loaded the bike inside the Orion and turned towards Midori, who was holding another standard shotgun and Nao's weapon. She shoved them in a back-pack and flung it over her shoulder. The three of them went to the rest of the group, who were observing the port-town from an elevated place a good distance away.

Just as they neared, Tomoe lowered the binoculars. "Just as expected. No sign of people. Good news, there are no Orphans either. However, all ferries are gone."

"Gone?" Haruka snatched the device from Tomoe's hands and looked through it. She made a sharp in-take.

"Yes, gone. As in charred and useless. The only thing floating in the water is burning debris. I guess the Orphans were as thorough here as with the other towns we passed."

"And just when we thought they were aiming only for the bigger centres," Shizuru leaned on her naginata, its dull tip stuck in the ground.

"Apparently not," Natsuki retracted her sniper rifle which was strapped across her back. Her shotgun was on the back of her waist, while the two pistols were secured on her hips. She also observed the situation below them through the scope. "It seems this happened recently, I'd guess not more than a day ago. But there are no traces of hostiles."

"Maybe they moved to the next town?" Haruka put the binoculars down and turned towards Natsuki. "What do we do?"

"What do you mean _we_? Suzushiro, you're here only because I've no means to send you back."

"Are you saying I'm useless?"

"Unless you can find us a ferry in a few hours, yes."

"Shall we get going?" Youko suggested, obviously not wanting to see another fight break out. Her tone was firm enough to make even Haruka think twice before opening her mouth.

"For now let's split up and search for some kind of way to get to the island." Midori pulled Natsuki by the hand and dragged her down towards the east part of the town.

* * *

"Help me pull this in the water," Midori grabbed one of the ropes on each side of a fishing boat. Natsuki quietly did as told and soon the vessel was floating in the calm waters.

"I'll check if the engine's working," Natsuki jumped in and started tingling with the rusty mechanisms. She pushed a switch and a loud rumbling filled the silent dock. It sounded as if the small machine could fall apart any minute.

"No more than four people will fit in here, though," she commented with a frown. They had to be separated in small groups again.

"Can't be helped – we searched the whole place and couldn't find anything better," Midori shrugged and also boarded the boat. "This ancient skiff survived only because its owner bought a new boat recently and decided to keep this safe away for spare parts, I suppose."

Natsuki cut the engine and went back to the shore. Midori watched her looking for gas for the motor, while enjoying the waves gently rocking the vessel. A small teasing smile broke out on her face.

"Did you and Shizuru-chan resolve your problems yesterday?"

Natsuki turned to glare at her.

"Idiot! Like that'll ever happen."

"Well, you stayed in the water for very long, so I thought it was something important..."

"It was."

"Honestly, you two are so hesitant." She paused. "Also, good thing you're not a man. Your nuts would've shrunk to your throat in that cold."

"Midori!" Her cheeks flared for a second.

"Though I can swear that sometimes I did wonder whether you're in a possession of a pair," the archaeologist chuckled. "It's okay to act a little scared from time to time."

"When this is over, maybe I will," Natsuki turned towards her with a small container. "I found gas. Let's go check in with the others."

* * *

"I'd have to admit, I hadn't considered that we'll need to transport two people back..." Midori rubbed the back of her neck while laughing off the glares she was receiving. She turned to Natsuki for support, but the younger woman was trying to make herself invisible by staying silent and busying herself with weapon maintenance.

"Are you two retarded?" Tomoe hid her eyes behind her palm.

"How did I get dragged into this?" Natsuki grumbled, not bothering to look up. She and Midori were sitting in the vessel, while the others were standing on the edge of the dock looking at them.

"So what now?" Mai put her hands on her hips. "Doesn't this mean that only two of us will go?"

"I would guess so," Shizuru spoke from beside her, eyeing the vessel curiously. "Though I'm sceptical whether this will reach the other island, even if the distance isn't that great."

"It's decided, then," Midori announced happily. This, of course, caused a cold chill to crawl up the backs of all present. "Since we've already boarded, Natsuki and I will be going."

"I may have missed something. How has it been decided?" Mai leaned forward a bit, her bracelets already spinning a bit.

Natsuki lifted her eyes and regarded Mai with dead-seriousness. "We have a boat and you don't."

"I can fly."

"For a while. Until you fall in the water and drown."

"Nacchan's right! The ones with the boat make the rules!" Midori jumped to a triumphant position and stuck her finger towards the group on the shore.

"Don't call me that," Natsuki gripped the edges of the rocking vessel. Midori almost lost her balance, nearly falling overboard.

"This is just childish," Shizuru sighed, choosing not to list all the points why the two's reason wasn't a valid argument.

Natsuki pointedly switched on the antediluvian motor and lowered it in the water, all the while looking at the group. The small boat started moving away from the docks.

"We're both HiME and on top of that Midori is Searrs. There should be no problem!" Natsuki yelled over at the others. The archaeologist nodded vigorously.

"You guys make yourselves useful and find a way to get to the continent!" Midori waved at them with a smile. Mai was now floating in the air, seething.

"All the ferries were destroyed!"

"Build one!"

* * *

"It's more than 100 km till we reach the Mururoran docks," Midori shoved her tablet back in her backpack and smiled at Natsuki. "So we have time to talk."

"Or we can sit quietly and hope we don't get attacked or run out of gas," Natsuki replied with a bored expression while steering the engine. The smile fell off Midori's face.

"We don't have enough fuel?"

"I could find only one container. And we left in kind of a rush..."

"..."

"I'm sure we'll find a better boat at the other docks," Natsuki shrugged and looked over her shoulder. "From here it looks normal... Just a bit more peaceful, I guess. I wonder what happened to all the people. There were no bodies."

"I have no idea. I doubt that they were that quick to evacuate," Midori stretched and lowered herself on the bench, her feet sticking out of the side of vessel. "Maybe they were taken?"

"By the Orphans? What for?"

"I don't know. To be sure, I'll send the others a message to investigate."

"Alright."

"Uh-oh."

"What?" Natsuki shifted in her spot.

"Signal's getting weaker. Don't know why. I'll tell them not to worry if they can't reach us," Midori's fingers tapped energetically on the screen of her device as she sent her message.

"Do you think it's deliberately blocked?"

"I can't tell for sure. But if it is, the thing that's blocking it is somewhere on Hokkaido."

Natsuki's arm was already going numb with keeping the boat on course.

"I don't like the sound of this."

"I wouldn't think too much of it. After all, communications world-wide have been cut off," Midori rested her arm on her forehead, blocking the sunlight. "They really got us. Without being able to coordinate, we're helpless."

"That's why we're in a hurry to stop them. You did say that the ruins told that only the twelve HiME could stop this?"

"Yup."

"Um... how?"

"No idea. We'll have to figure this on the go. Can't you ask the magic stone?"

Natsuki's brow twitched. "It's not a fortune-telling sphere! Besides, I can't control what I see."

"What you saw... do you know what it means?" Midori turned to look at her. She shook her head.

"I've already told you what I saw. I don't know if it's future, past, or present. But it points out that the Hime star is important. In what way, I still can't figure out."

"And you said that last time you tried to... move in that vision?"

"Yes, though I didn't get far. I woke up in the temple almost immediately after 'entering' that vision."

"Was there anything special about that temple?"

"Nothing that I noticed. I think it happened because it was a spiritual place, or something."

Midori stayed silent for a moment.

"Makes sense," she finally said, closing her eyes. "We should try to find a shrine in Hokkaido and test out that theory."

"Midori?"

"Hm?"

"Can we switch for a bit? My hand's getting tired."

"Nah, you're fine."


	8. Chapter 8

**_A/N: Hello! I'll try to be brief this time. I'm kinda falling back on the chapter-production, pressed by my lazy nature of a_ pro_crastinator. Updates may or may not become irregular, based on the hours of sleep I get. *end of pointless ramble*_**

_**Moving on to the answers to your inspiring reviews. I see a lot of you disagree with the fact that Natsuki hurt Shizuru immensely in order to push her away. *rubs hands with an evil grin* Good, good. As we all know, not all choices made under pressure stand to be correct. And in this case, we have a big screw-up. How I love these in a story's plot. **_

_**For xx Catty xx: I thank you for the multi-lingual praises I receive every time! And the 'I hate you!' at the end of chapter five is directed at Natsuki, since she is usually the one dragging Mai into impossible situations, whether it's deliberate or not. Maybe I'm over-exaggerating a bit with that part of their relationship, but I can't help it. Mai is the character I absolutely love to drive to the edge of hysteria. Sadistic of me, I know - a form of love, if you will. But I digress.**_

_**A bit of important events in this chapter, so pay attention, not that it's easy to overlook them. Have fun with reading and leave a comment of something's caught your attention! Or even if nothing has, I also like the occasional piece of confidence-boost. Thanks for the support!**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

"Did you find anything?"

"Nothing," Shizuru stepped over a fallen utility pole. All from her group met at the Orion, which was now parked at the down-town's square. "It's as if the people disappeared in thin-air."

"This isn't normal," Youko said thoughtfully, her fingers brushing her chin. "Was it the same in the neighbouring towns as well?"

"We only bothered to come down to Mutsu's north district," Shizuru mentally cursed at their carelessness. "The situation might as well be the same."

"Should some of us go back and check it out?" Mai suggested a bit hesitantly. "It should be possible within the confines of a day."

"No," Shizuru shook her head. "We didn't come to investigate the disappearances. The things that could go wrong are too many for us to risk it."

"I agree," unsurprisingly it was Tomoe that backed her. "It seems that Shizuru-san is the only person with common sense in your sorry squad."

"Marguerite-san, I'd appreciate it if you didn't insult my friends," Shizuru turned towards her with a steely expression.

Natsuki hadn't told her much about the girl, but she was clear on the fact that she was obsessed and dangerous. Shizuru had met her face-to-face only a couple of times during her visits to the school after graduating and hadn't thought much of the attention she was receiving from Tomoe. She had merely considered her another fan-girl.

Also, Shizuru had been unconscious for the better part of the HiME's last clash with Searrs, so she hadn't had the chance to face-off against Tomoe. All she knew about the teal-haired agent she had learned from Natsuki and the information was scarce. And after hearing Natsuki's story she knew why. Having thought Tomoe for dead, Natsuki hadn't seen it necessary to warn her.

"Ah, don't be so cruel, Shizuru-san," Tomoe didn't seem affected by the cold treatment, if judging by her posture. Only her voice sounded hurt.

"Shut it, tramp."

At hearing such a line from Haruka, Shizuru couldn't help but stare wide-eyed and with mouth slightly agape at her self-appointed rival. Tomoe regarded the headstrong blonde with distaste.

"Let us... let us search for a way to cross to the continent," Mai cleared her throat. "I know that Midori said that they might find something on the other island, but with communications fading, we can't know for sure."

* * *

"Nacchan..."

"You've been at it for only ten minutes, shut up."

"But..."

"I did it for the last four hours! Besides, we'll be there soon."

Or at least she hoped so. The sun was already setting and Natsuki would rather they saw where their boat was going.

The small engine coughed.

_If_ they made it to the shore. But she had to be impressed – for such a small motor, it sure made the vessel move faster than anticipated.

After another hour or so of complaints they saw the island on their left. Though their destination was further ahead it was always comforting to know they had land close enough to row to if needed to. There were lights blinking at them from the coast, which assured the two that there were still people who weren't attacked or had chosen not to leave their homes.

"Do you think they simply don't know?" Natsuki's low voice drifted over the sound of the waves. A cold wind blew and both of them shuddered.

"Possible, but... There was a world-wide broadcast when the first attacks occurred, right?" Midori cracked her neck and gazed again at the lights. "I wonder if we'll get to eat some of that rumoured Hokkaido ramen while we're there..."

Natsuki's stomach rumbled in response.

Reasoning she might as well rest while waiting for them to arrive, her eyes closed and she succumbed to a light sleep.

She was woken up by Midori's alarmed call. Her hand instinctively performed the gesture with which she used to summon her Elements.

"What is it?" She asked, still a bit disoriented. "Did we get there?"

"Almost," Midori pointed ahead. "Look."

The port town in front of them was illuminated and they could even see a couple of boats still not having docked for the night. The sounds of buzzing workers, even in this late hour, could be heard over the splashing of the waves.

"Why?" Natsuki got up and leaned forward. She swiftly pulled out her sniper rifle and took a look through the scope. There were people still working in the docks, passing crates with fish, preparing the boats for the next day. "Why aren't they hiding? What's going on?"

* * *

Mai let her legs dangle from the edge of the concrete dock. She gazed at the starry sky – it could be clearly seen with the absence of light coming from the town. The only source of illumination came from the remaining lamp posts; they had turned on automatically as soon as the sun set.

"You shouldn't wander away alone like this, Mai-san," Shizuru slid next to her and tucked a stray lock behind her ear. Mai hadn't even heard her approaching.

"Shizuru-san. Did you come to drag me back?" She joked.

"No dragging will be involved if you come willingly," Mai saw Shizuru winking playfully at her. She smiled.

"I just wanted some time alone. Being stuffed inside the Orion for so long, with so many people, without any privacy... It's making me uneasy, is all," she quietly admitted, weary that somebody else might hear her. She knew that Shizuru would understand her and that is why she allowed herself to talk freely in front of her.

"Indeed, it is a bit suffocating," the elder agreed. She sat next to Mai in silence for a while until she finally straightened. "Let us head back. We cannot let our guard down."

Mai looked up at her. Even in the dark it seemed like she was glowing. She was wearing the same cargo pants, shirt and jacket as all of them, but she filled the uniform as if she was meant to wear such clothing all of her life. While Mai felt out of place in such garments, Shizuru never seemed like she didn't belong, no matter how she was clad. She made the clothes look good on her, not the other way around. For that Mai envied her.

"Do you hate us?" She heard herself ask. Her hand trembled to move and cover her mouth, but she willed it to stay by her side. Shizuru peered curiously at her.

"Excuse me?"

"Do you hate Natsuki and I?"

"Why would I-?"

"We lied to all of you. If we hadn't..."

"If you hadn't things might have turned out differently," Shizuru cut her off, though not in a rude manner. "Or not. We can never know. I think the others are of the same mind as well."

"I can't help but think of the 'what-if's. If I hadn't heard that voice and later told Natsuki, would she have kept it all to herself? Would she have made the same decision to try and separate us, like we both agreed upon later?" Mai sighed. "Would it have been any different if we had prepared for this invasion together? We thought that if the HiME were scattered, another Carnival wouldn't occur."

"And on that you were right. At least in some sense." Shizuru's long hair flowed in the wind. "But instead of a Carnival involving only HiME, the world was forced to feel the fear Orphans bring with their destructive nature. I cannot blame you for trying. Though I have a thought or two against the methods you used."

"I'm sorry, Shizuru-san," Mai pulled her knees to her chest. "I think that Natsuki has also realized that the way we handled the situation was too rough and impulsive. We should have known better."

"You two keep apologizing," Shizuru shook her head. "There's nothing to do about this now. You can only reflect and strive not to repeat the same mistakes."

"Did she also ask for forgiveness from you?" Mai let a bitter laugh escape her lips.

"No, though she did apologize," the whispered answer surprised her. "Natsuki told me that while she regretted her decisions, she would repeat them if it meant that this new Carnival could be avoided."

"Sounds like her."

"And that is why I sometimes hate _her_," Shizuru admitted with a self-deprecating smile which Mai hadn't really seen on her face till now. "However I can hate neither of you for a reason like this one: acting in order to protect all of us. I am the last person who has the right to do that."

Mai swallowed and just watched her for a while. Her lips moved on their own. She needed to get this out.

"In the aftermath when Natsuki and I met, I knew something was wrong the second I saw her. We were both headed for the Academy in order to meet the rest of you. While walking with the others from Natsuki's team, I pulled her aside and told her that I had heard a voice when the Star was destroyed. I was confused because it didn't seem Miyu-san or Alyssa-chan had heard it.

"She stiffened and I didn't need to guess twice that she knew what I was talking about. I explained that I didn't make out more than three or four words, and so she seemed to relax. Though I pressed her and finally she told me what the message had been. As reluctant as she was, I think she needed to share it with somebody. To know that she wasn't the only one carrying the burden. She... told me what she did at the Searrs facility before activating the self-destruction protocol. Silenced every witness... I couldn't believe it, but I suppose that under the pressure of the events, I came to agree with her decision.

"We agreed that we shouldn't tell the rest of the HiME and attempt to prevent the tragedy on our own. Letting the HiME drift apart and give the occasional push in that direction if needed was the solution we came up with. But I think we may have tried too hard. Especially Natsuki. I was so mad at her when she told me what she had said to you, Shizuru-san."

Shizuru stiffened, but remained silent.

"She said she was afraid that if you found out... _when _you found out, you would despise her. Not only about hiding the truth behind the Obsidian Lord, but also the fact that she single-handedly killed Searrs agents only to keep the secret. I'm aware of what transpired between you two during the first Carnival and the... surrounding events.

"We argued for a long while when you two parted. That time her words were, 'How can I tell her that it's all going to be okay? That I'll always love her, after I know what it feels like to have so much blood on your hands? How can I tell her that she will be forgiven when I don't feel like I will ever be? Every time I look at her I will see myself and instead of love for Shizuru, I will feel only hatred.'"

"You remembered well," Shizuru choked out, her hand covering her mouth. The display of weakness was swiped away with the next gust of wind. "Why did you tell me this?"

"Because that idiot is too stubborn and afraid to do it herself. And I've seen her suffer enough. What you two had or still have at least deserves a proper closure." Mai stood up and self-consciously pushed a few locks out of her face.

"Let's go back," Shizuru smiled before leading her back to the others.

The town was eerie with silence.

Youko looked up at them from the Orion's driver seat. "We've completely lost contact with those two."

"There was also a report from Searrs HQ," Tomoe said over a cup of tea. She smiled and offered some to Shizuru, who politely refused and sat next to Haruka.

"What did they say?" Mai grabbed the cup of steaming beverage and received a glare.

"There have been no Orphan sightings for the past hours. We also asked them about the case of losing comms with Hokkaido. They said they had no idea, since they had to pull out all agents except for Wang when the attacks began."

It was finally confirmed that Natsuki and Midori were truly on their own.

* * *

They strode through the streets of the small port-town, ready for something to go wrong. Only that it didn't. It was quiet only because the majority of people had retired to their residences, having to work early in the morning. There were also no signs of destruction whatsoever.

"It feels wrong," Natsuki mumbled, tightening the grip around her weapons. She had wrapped her jacket around them and was cradling them in front of herself. "I didn't expect I'd need to hide these."

It had been quite the hassle to disassemble her sniper rifle, considering she had spent quite some time on making sure it was well calibrated. Later she would need to perform the tedious task all over again.

Midori gave her a side-long glance. She also had to hastily disassemble her labrys in order to fit the blade and small motor in her already full backpack and was carrying around the pole as if it was a curtain-rod. She was obviously worried that the sharp blade could rip at the fabric if she made a sudden move or started running.

"Should we wait-out the night somewhere?" Natsuki looked around. Midori's eyes flashed with excitement.

"Let's go to a bar!"

"That's a very, very bad-"

* * *

"What can I get you two ladies?"

Natsuki sunk back in the smelly couch next to the corner table she had chosen. Her guns were safely tucked between her and the wall. Midori grinned at the man who had shouted from the bar. She happily strode to him and came back with two beers.

"Drink, Nacchan!" She slammed the pint in front of her scowling companion.

"Stop calling me that," Natsuki reluctantly took it and lifted it to her lips. It wasn't the best she had drank, but it did manage to make her feel less thirsty. In their rush to leave they had taken no food or water supplies.

"We should use this opportunity and gather some info!" Midori's eyes travelled to a table opposite of theirs. She pushed herself up provoking the want in Natsuki to reach for her hand and pull her back down. "I'm gonna ask those nice men over there if they know anything about the you-know-what. See ya!"

Natsuki watched in horror how the woman sauntered away.

Soon her table was swarmed by drunk guys and she could only smile and exercise her self-control to the maximum. Though she finally gave up and decided to use her position and ask a few questions. She could certainly go nowhere now.

"Missy, you're new in town, right?" One of the drunkards hiccuped his inquiry.

"Just passing."

Her reply disappointed her audience so much, that even she felt bad about having to leave in a few hours. She shook her head and gave a strained smile.

"What's the word around? Anything interesting lately?"

"Well," a man gazed at the ceiling with his brows furrowed. "We can't get in touch with the rest of the country and the foreign parts... But the guys in charge assure us it's only a malfunction and it will be fixed by tomorrow evening."

"Do you think it has something to do with those monster attacks?" Natsuki shifted in her spot. The alcoholic breath of the men surrounding her made it difficult to think clearly. To get rid of it she took a sip from her cold beverage. Needless to say, it didn't help much.

The men exchanged unfocused looks and burst in laughter.

"Ah, missy! You also heard about that? That kid has gotten famous even on the main island, eh?"

They nudged each other and continued barking in exaltation.

"What? Aren't you a bit concerned?" Natsuki was ready to hit the nearest man, but held back the urge. "What kid?"

"Wha-? You didn't mean the prank video that kid put through broadcast?" They asked and Natsuki stiffened. "He confessed on hacking the local server of the National Television. Put the scare in a lot of people, too! My wife almost fainted!"

"Where's that man now?" Natsuki gripped her pint, seeking the calming cold under her palm.

"Well, the local police station, of course! Waiting to be taken to court. He prol'ly caused this whole mess!" One of the drunkards belched and his friends burst out laughing. "Missy, you ask strange questions."

"I have to go."

Before they could stop her, she flung a couple of coins on the table, grabbed her bundle and headed for Midori. The woman was deep in a jolly conversation and clearly didn't appreciate being pulled out the bar by the collar. She had managed to grab her weapon's pole and backpack at the last moment.

"Hey, hey, wait! Nacchan! Where are you taking me?" Midori struggled against the tight grip, stumbling after the Ice HiME.

"The police."

"The police?"

"I'll explain on the way."

"Waitwaitwait! I'm not drunk enough to be taken to the police yet!"

* * *

Reito pretended to be still asleep, while the scientists went about in his room. They were mumbling lowly, but he could hear them still.

"What if it's possible for it to transfer to others?"

"That's a dangerous thought there." A slight pause. "We'll have to pursue further study today. If a positive result turns out..."

"This needs to be reported to the higher-ups."

"No, only after we have results. Don't get ahead of yourself."

_Hey, hey. _Reito shifted, masking his movement as a dream with an unintelligible mumble. _My brain can't take much more poking around by you guys..._

* * *

Natsuki was standing in front of the one-man cage, looking at what was a man not older than herself. He was tall and lean, with jet-black straight hair and eyes just as dark, which observed her calmly.

"You don't seem like a cop," he finally commented in a voice deeper than she had expected.

She didn't answer him.

With a history of sneaking around highly-secured buildings as long as hers, it had been virtually no problem to her to sneak past the guards and surveillance cameras of such a small police department; during the small hours, none the less.

"I'm somebody much more dangerous," she leaned forward. She was in full gear and made sure he could see her weapons. He didn't flinch.

"I'm not scared by the likes of you," he kept regarding her with impassive eyes. His look was everything but natural.

"You should." Natsuki crossed her arms in front of her. "You admitted to having uploaded a false broadcast."

"Indeed."

"We both know this is a lie." Her eyes narrowed. "Officials announced that the system malfunction was also caused by you. But that _also_ is not true."

He simply gazed back at her from behind the bars.

"Who are you working with? Why do you keep the truth from these people?"

In a single breath he leapt towards her and grabbed her by the collar, slamming her face against the bars. Natsuki felt blood in her mouth from her burst lip. She fought back, but he was gripping her with inhumane strength. When he spoke up, Natsuki heard the same voice from two years ago. Her air was stuck in her throat.

"_Tiny human. You ask questions as if you can understand. We are beyond your comprehension," _only the young man's lips parted, but many voices came out. _"Your death is inevitable."_

Her right hand was now burning with pain and from the corner of her eye she could see blue light illuminating the darkness-filled room.

"_The Orphans are only the vanguard of your demise. Give up now or you will suffer more than you ever have."_

Natsuki gripped the bars and pushed her whole body back, freeing herself from the hold.

"I'm no tiny human," she regained her footing and pointed a gun at the man's forehead. "I'm a HiME. Who are you?"

But the youth fell and began twisting convulsively on the floor, white foam coming out of his mouth and blood running down from his ears and nose. His eyes were wide open, unseeing. Natsuki took a step back and put her weapon away.

* * *

"Can you drive?" Natsuki threw a key-chain at Midori. The latter caught it and eyed it with mild interest.

"Sure. Lead the way."

After determining to which patrol car the keys belonged, they boarded it and Midori gunned the engine.

"I suppose you borrowed the keys?" She asked jokingly. "Surely we'll return the vehicle later when we're done with it, right?"

Natsuki didn't play along and chose to remain gravely silent. Midori threw her a brief look.

"What happened to your pretty face?"

"Midori, this has become much more than we were ever prepared for."

"Natsuki, what did you find out?" Midori's question was strained, as if she actually didn't want to know the answer.

The car zigzagged out of town, not crashing a couple of times only because of sheer luck. Natsuki felt too distressed to pay attention to Midori's involuntary attempts to end their lives in various creative ways.

"I talked to them."

"To whom?"

"The Obsidians."

"What?!" Midori turned towards her.

"Watch the road!"

The car came to an abrupt halt. Midori was staring intently at Natsuki whose eyes were focused ahead.

"Repeat what you just said," the doctor evenly commanded.

"I spoke with the Obsidians," Natsuki grit between her teeth. "Through the boy accused of broadcasting the false news-feed. He... he's dead."

Midori made a sharp in-take.

"But the officials he works with aren't. They could order us pursued at any moment. Hell, for all I know they might have some telepathic connection and have already done it!" Natsuki turned towards her ex-teacher. "Midori, if they can use humans like that..."

"But only Kanzaki Reito..." Midori began, but continued with answering her own question. "Reito was groomed for being the vessel for the Obsidian Lord from a child."

Natsuki nodded. "Makes sense. He could take it. But that boy couldn't."

"What's going on here?" Midori hit the wheel with her fists. Her eyes travelled to Natsuki's hand and widened. "Nacchan, those lines..."

Natsuki unwrapped the bandages around the stone and stared at the lines which now reached her fingertips and a bit above her wrist. The bent in, square angled blue lines gave off a slight eerie light. Not wanting to look at them any longer, she fished out a pair of gloves from the car's glove compartment and put them on hastily. She took a deep breath.

"The stone reacted when he got close to me," she buried her face in her hands and took a shaky breath.

"No vision?"

"Nothing."

_Except pain._

Without further verbal exchange, Midori once again started the engine and focused on the road. The map on the front panel revealed that they had about an hour until they reached the area of Touya lake. They had no idea how to find the Searrs agent or Nao. Dawn was going to break in a few hours.

"When we get there we shouldn't walk around carelessly," Natsuki finally spoke. "I think it's safe to assume that we're already wanted criminals."

"But how will they contact the police there if connections are cut?" Midori made another unnecessarily sharp turn.

"I don't know!" Natsuki raised her voice and then relaxed a bit in her seat, closing her eyes. "All I'm saying is that we should be ready for anything. We're on our own."

"... We always were, Nacchan."

"Stop calling me that."

Suddenly remembering something important, Natsuki started feeling her pockets, pulling out various items.

"Gone, gone, gone," she chanted in a whisper. She brushed her hand over her face. "Where are they? I... I should've... should... have- This is not my jacket."

"What's wrong?" Midori asked, not tearing her gaze away from the dark road, but her brows creased.

"I... my pills," Natsuki admitted silently, her eyes shifting to her feet.

"Pills? You're sick and didn't tell me?" The anger in Midori's voice was audible.

"No! It's not... It's... PTSD – if it's not triggered, it won't manifest, but with our current situation..."

Midori held a concerned look, her lips pursed and brows furrowed. She didn't need to ask what that condition was.

"Nacchan, that's... horrible. I don't know what to say."

"It's okay," Natsuki tapped her foot nervously and swallowed. She turned towards Midori with a weak smirk. "I just might turn in a small pain in the ass, if I flash. I'll rely on you to punch me out of it."

"Sure, anything for you."

* * *

Shizuru shifted on her side. She couldn't lay in a comfortable position for some time now and it wasn't only because she was on the ground. Standing up with a sigh, she searched for the source of her midnight suffering. Beside her Mai also opened her eyes and regarded her sleepily.

After a short search Shizuru fished out of one of the inner pockets of the jacket what looked like a bottle of pills. Mai was awake and up in an instant. She snatched the bottle away from the long fingers and inspected it closely.

"Goodness..." she shakily whispered. "You and Natsuki exchanged your jackets, didn't you?"

Shizuru lifted a slender brow. "No, we didn't. What is that, Mai-san?"

"These are Natsuki's medications."

"Medications?" Disbelief bloomed on Shizuru's face. "Natsuki's?"

Mai closed her eyes and gripped the bottle.

_Without them she might as well paint a bull's eye on her back and head through an Orphan horde unarmed..._


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: Greetings! Happy first day of September and my condolences to all those who are going to start again with school or university. Since I'm part of the latter and it's going to be one hell of a autumn semestre, I don't know how often I'll be able to update. I had grandiouse plans for finishing this fic in the summer and just upload chapters... well, that didn't work out according to plan... *tehé* **_

_**Thank you for the reviews and follows! I'll be selfish and send out a special thanks to 'D' for the comment, which managed to make me giddy for the rest of the day I read it in. Actually, no, scratch that. I feel giddy after all reviews. Now, I'll have to apologize for this chapter - it's not as thrilling as the last one and I had some trouble with it. (Alert: Not beta'd.) **_

_**Also, also, I'm sorry if **_**Jump Drive**_** seems left of cannon, even though it's labeled as 'Post-Carnival'. But as the characters grow older and wiser, I felt the need to make the whole piece darker than the original Mai-HiME... thus the presence of plot lines like the decisions Natsuki made, their consequences, the not-so-happily-ever-after lives of the other HiME, etc. For EliteSky; don't worry, one can only find redemtion if one seeks it, but I'm sure gonna make the search a bitch. **_

_**This is all for now, I think. I hope you enjoy! **_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

The relentless search for any people or means of transport to the other island turned out with no success whatsoever. That was the reason Shizuru woke up before dawn the next day and set out to continue with trying and fulfilling the task. However, after two uneventful hours, due to hunger and frustration, she finally decided to call it off for now and return to the others. Hearing their excited voices from afar she sped up her pace, curious as to what had caused the heated conversation. To her relief, her team mates weren't fighting this time.

"Could you let me in on the situation?" Shizuru approached with a smile. Maybe they had some news on how things were progressing on Natsuki and Midori's end.

Mai turned beaming at her.

"Shizuru-san! We were so stupid!"

Tomoe coughed behind her fist, but her action went ignored by most of the present.

"I don't see why you need to be so happy about it, Mai-san," Shizuru commented with an innocent expression. Mai waved her hands frantically.

"No, no. Listen!" She didn't seem affected by the lack of enthusiasm the newly arrived woman was displaying. "I think I found a way to get to Hokkaido without having to leave the Orion behind."

"Oh?" Now she had Shizuru's interest.

"See, we considered only a ferry as a means of transportation," Mai started excitedly. "While there is another way!"

"I don't necessarily disagree. Though the ferry was the only _realistic _way to transport something as big as the Orion."

"Well, now we won't need to transport it, we'll just ride it to Hokkaido."

"How?" Shizuru cocked her head to the side. "We certainly can't fly it there."

A triumphant grin bloomed on Mai's face.

* * *

Touya lake was as majestic as the travel companies presented it. The moon and stars reflected on the clear surface, creating the illusion that the visitors were on the edge of a portal leading to outer space. The lake was ten kilometres in diameter and was surrounded by small residences, a town on one end, and hotels and lodging houses on the other. Natsuki quietly sat cross-legged on the front lid of the patrol car and was tinkering with her sniper's scope.

"You've adjusted it a dozen times already," Midori turned to look at her. She was standing a bit ahead of her, a battle-ready labrys in hand. Natsuki didn't bother to respond, which provoked an irritated sigh.

They had stopped a good distance away from the more populated part of the circular road that enclosed Touya lake. And having completed this step of their plan successfully, they still couldn't figure out how to proceed. It would have been easier if there were Orphans to kill, Natsuki thought, as she slipped off the car and strapped the rifle to her back. As it had turned a mere two hours ago, they were also pitched against humans.

"Great hero of justice, do you have any ideas as to our next move?"

"I think that winging it would be best," Midori gave her expert opinion and Natsuki shrugged. It wasn't as if she got any better ideas.

"Should _we_ look for them or make _them_ look for us?"

"I don't know. In agent Wang's last report she wrote that Nao-chan has gone to the island in the middle of the lake," at seeing the inquisitive look she got from Natsuki, she went on. "There was no indication she would do that. For the past few months Nao-chan has lived in Sapporo and was keeping out of trouble."

"And there we have our irregularity," Natsuki motioned for Midori to follow her. They left the car in the bushes and skidded down to the lake's shore.

"What do you mean?" Midori asked as they continued along the dark waters. "Wang didn't seem to observe anything suspicious during the time she spent on her tail."

"That's why Searrs manage to screw up even a well thought-up plan," Natsuki strode with big steps, pebbles and frozen sand crunching under her boots. "They tend to overlook the human factor."

"I see where you're getting," Midori laughed. "Searrs should've known better that if Nao-chan was laying low, something suspicious is going on."

"Yeah," Natsuki nodded. "She was always secretive, but never the type to steer clear of trouble. Maybe she's searching for something here?"

"Could be. In fact, I don't see any other reason for her coming."

"Anything special about that island?" Natsuki turned to look at the middle of the lake.

"Actually, it's a group of four islands. Otherwise, no," Midori shook her head and also glanced at it. "There's only a forest museum on the biggest island... I can't imagine why Nao-chan would want to go there."

"Maybe she became an activist for a better, greener Earth?"

Their laughter carried over the still lake and into the chilly night.

* * *

To say that Mai wasn't secretly proud of her providence would be a blatant lie. Of course, she did feel silly she hadn't thought of this earlier. As in, before Natsuki and Midori had sailed off in a boat which looked like it would sink if one as much as winked at it. And they all had wasted so much time. Her fists clenched in her lap. In this race against the Orphans they couldn't afford such mistakes; they tended to cost lives.

"The darkness makes me feel on edge," Youko's voice prodded her to look up. The medic was gripping the steering wheel tightly, her attention fully focused on the few metres of visibility that lay ahead of the Orion.

"Going through the Seikan Tunnel didn't even cross my mind," Haruka commented from beside Mai. A humming of agreement was heard from behind them, coming from Shizuru.

The Seikan Tunnel was an over fifty-kilometre underwater railway, running one-hundred-and-forty metres below the seabed beneath a strait, which connected the two big islands. Getting into the tunnel had been a hell of a ride and Mai was very glad that the Orion was suited for almost any terrain. Though navigating through the dark also proved to be very tricky and all of the passengers made sure to keep as silent as possible in order to help Youko concentrate. The doctor was having a bad time as it was, with the tunnel being pitch-black and provisioned only for express trains and small maintenance carts. One twitch and the SUV could become more of a baggage than a means of transport.

"Do you think there are people in the two stations along the tunnel?" Mai hesitantly asked.

"We haven't seen a single person for days, why would there be people here?" Tomoe's annoyed reply came.

Nevertheless, her words were certainly true. The stations they had went along were also as deserted as the ones they had passed through on the sea-side road. This raised more questions than could be answered in the current circumstances. Mai didn't know what to expect. All those people couldn't have just evaporated in thin air.

"Well, for one I hope there are none," Haruka darkly commented. "If there were, that would mean we will have a train in our way, thus no way to continue."

Youko let out a soft laugh.

"Good thing those two aren't with us. If something like that would to occur, they would have wanted to blow the problem into bits."

Mai couldn't help but smile at the thought of the missing duo's antics.

They passed the first emergency underwater station. There weren't any signs of people, or trouble. Nobody insisted on stopping and searching.

* * *

"Are we really going to steal a boat?" Natsuki grumbled.

"I didn't think you'd have any objections after you decided to take that patrol car."

"It's not that! We'll be spotted from miles away."

"Well, we can't steal a submarine," Midori kicked a pebble into the water and sighed. "Can't you freeze the surface, so we can cross?"

"If I could do something that convenient, your mouth would be a block of ice."

Clearly pretending she hadn't heard that last remark, Midori turned her head towards the cluster of lights no more than a kilometre away.

"Keeping things discreet sure can be a problem. Would have been so easy to just go there, grab a boat and head for the island," she pulled out her data pad as if expecting the solution to just pop out on the screen.

"Are comms still blocked?" Natsuki asked, just to keep the conversation going. She didn't receive a reply. "Midori?"

"My battery died."

Natsuki rubbed her eyes, feeling that nothing she said now would make the situation better. She slumped on the ground and lifted her eyes towards the starry sky with an exasperated sigh.

"This whole episode has been such a no-brainer," she told nobody in particular. Midori patted her on the shoulder with an encouraging smile.

"Come on, if we give up now, who will get Nao-chan?" Her expression fell a bit. "Besides, we obtained valuable information and while it came as a shock, it can prove useful in the long run."

"It's like we're trying to complete an edgeless black puzzle. We keep finding pieces, but we neither know where to put them, nor if we'll solve it any time soon."

There was a rustle coming from behind them. They swiftly pulled out their weapons – Midori had her labrys pointed towards the sound's origin, her posture lowered, while Natsuki was crouching and had her twin guns drawn in the ready.

"What, I heard my name and I thought that I would check this out." The duo's eyes went wide. "Turned out to be just you two idiots."

"Nao-chan!" Midori lowered the labrys, shock written all over her face. Nao crossed her hands in front of her chest and lifted a brow while pursing her lips.

"Obviously," she dead-panned. "Why are you so surprised? Weren't you supposed to have come looking for me?"

"I- We did," the archaeologist took a step forward, her head lifted towards the place Nao was standing. "But we thought you were on that island..."

"I came back over three days ago," Nao regarded them with boredom. "Why would I still be there?"

A heavy silence fell over the three. Midori turned towards Natsuki with a disappointed look, shaking her head.

"Stop acting as if it's my fault!" Natsuki bristled up and straightened to full height. "I've got enough on my plate as it is!"

"But, Nacchan, I can't think of everything..."

"You're asking for it," Natsuki grit out, while glaring daggers at the older woman. In order to avoid a bloody confrontation, she snapped towards the red-headed spectator. "And what are you doing out here?"

"'Here' in Hokkaido, or 'here' outside of town?" Nao drawled out.

"Both."

"The first one is a bit long, can it wait till later?"

"We don't have time," Natsuki holstered her guns. "But alright. Now answer the second."

Nao frowned a bit.

"The townspeople started acting kinda crazy, so I got away as soon as I sensed something was wrong." She pulled her jacket's fluffy hood closer around her neck as a gust of wind went by. "The little spy didn't make it out, I guess."

"You knew Wang was following you?"

Nao let out a mocking snort and swiped her hand as if she was chasing away a fly. "Please, who do you think you're talking to? I've spent the last five years sneaking around. I know when somebody's tailing me."

"What do you mean she didn't make it?" Midori seemed more concerned about the agent's well-being than the fact that she had been compromised.

"Well, if she hasn't followed me, then something has happened to her," Nao spoke matter-of-factly. "I can only guess it's because those guys started acting-up."

"In what way?"

"Are we having an interrogation here?"

"Answer the damn question!" Natsuki took a step forward. Nao could barely hide her smirk.

"You don't look like an angry puppy any more when you're trying to intimidate. Congrats, Kuga," Nao continued to taunt. Natsuki didn't budge, making her pout a bit. "Ah, but you're even less fun than before. I guess it's one thing for the other."

"Nao-chan. We don't have time," Midori pleaded. Nao's expression switched to serious after she saw the urgency in the other two HiME's eyes.

"I can't really pin-point anything strange, but all the folks in the lodging house I was staying suddenly went quiet. Don't get me wrong, I'm not that talkative and I don't mind the silence, however that was downright creepy," she paused to think for a moment in recollection. "When I left to go to buy myself dinner I felt like everybody's eyes were on me. The owner of the udon shop kept staring at me, without saying anything even after I ordered. Not waiting for it to get worse, I left the town on foot. Well, actually I stole a bicycle. Faster."

"I think we can make a business out of this after the whole mess is over," Midori looked like she was really considering the idea. Nao tilted her head.

"Wha-?"

"Ignore her," Natsuki climbed up to where the red-headed troublemaker was standing. "You deserve some answers as well."

"Glad we're of the same mind here," Nao looked up to her. "What's going on, Kuga?"

"Let's talk on the way back to town," Natsuki walked up to the road. "Come on."

"The town?" Nao asked incredulously. "But I just got away from that place a few hours ago."

"Searrs want their set of a HiME and an agent for the deal to work," Midori grabbed Nao by the arm and dragged her after Natsuki.

"I knew the girl was Searrs, but... Hey, what's with the weapons?"

"You just noticed them?"

"I was too blinded by the light of your stupidity," Nao was quick to answer. "And why are you wearing the same uniforms?"

"As I said, we'll explain on the way."

* * *

Despite all the possibilities that their journey through the tunnel could have ended disastrously, it turned out well in the end. Somewhat. Sure, they had experienced some trouble in manoeuvring the Orion out of the railway and into the tunnel the personnel used for maintenance purposes. It was so narrow that the SUV barely fit through it. What awaited on the other side, however, did manage to startle them.

There were a couple of workers who stared at the vehicle wide-eyed. Mai was glad the windows were one-way and didn't allow for their faces to be seen. The workers were so shell shocked that Youko managed to take advantage of the situation and get the Orion out of there in a record time without big accidents. Well, while bursting through a few barriers and activating a number of alarms.

As soon as they were on a normal road, they needed to recover from the initial shock that there were people on this side. People who were behaving as if nothing was wrong and who most certainly hadn't expected the almost invisible SUV jumping into the traffic from out of the blue.

"What the hell?" Haruka gripped the seat's edge, as did all of them. Of course they hadn't thought of wearing seatbelts.

Mai was sure that her face had gone from a healthy tan to stark-white in seconds, as had Youko's the moment they drove into the traffic with a speed far over the regulations. There weren't as many vehicles on the road as in Kyoto, but it was still a herculean task not to cause a car-crash. Tires screeched and drivers angrily honked at the unusual new vehicle.

If it had been somebody else at the wheel they would have been crushed in mere milliseconds. With Youko, however, they managed to get away fairly unscathed. They hurried to activate their navigation system and set off to Natsuki and Midori's location.

"This is bad," Haruka scowled at the trembling with grey static display. "With comms blocked, so is the GPS system... Do we have any old-fashioned maps?"

Mai expertly moved herself to the front seat and started rummaging through the small compartments around and under her. Finally, she pulled out a detailed map of the country. She stretched it out and showed their driver the destination. Youko nodded.

"Now all we need to do is head there," she mumbled, her eyes quickly returning to the road. "I know this sounds bad, but the presence of people startled me."

"This goes for everyone of us, Sagisawa-sensei," Mai looked in the rear-view mirror.

"Expecting company?" Tomoe asked from the back.

"I wouldn't be surprised if the police were sent after us. Those people seem like they have no idea what's going on in the rest of the world," lilac eyes observed the every-day background they were passing through. There were a few houses on the both sides of the road and people busily scurrying along with their own tasks.

"Step on it, doctor," Tomoe turned to look at the traffic behind them, as if preparing for a confrontation any moment now. "The sooner we get out of here, the better."

"Shouldn't we collect information first?" Haruka asked, even though her tone betrayed that she also wanted this place behind her back as soon as possible.

"Usually, I would favour the idea, but considering our flashy entrance, I think it's for the best we don't linger here any longer," Shizuru leaned back in her seat and looked out the window on her side. "If all of Hokkaido is like this, I'm sure we'll have other chances to gather intelligence."

As no words of objection followed, they were soon out of the more populated part of the town and on their way to Lake Touya.

* * *

"Okay, so let me get this straight," Nao crouched behind a truck and turned to look at Natsuki and Midori, who were just next to her. "There are more like the Obsidian Lord, they live between the space of an infinite number of worlds and control the whole life-cycle. The Orphans are their tools, but they haven't wiped all of us yet, because they are _probably_ searching for something.

"And there are Orphans, but there's no Hime star and no super powers? On top of that, you've teamed-up with Searrs and are now on a wild race to recruit the rest of the HiME in order to prevent the invasion, even though you don't know how, while our Childs are gone. And to put the cherry on top of this shit-pie, it seems that those _Obsidians _can control people's minds. How do you expect for this to work, when there's the possibility that the world you want to save will turn against you?"

Midori turned to Natsuki with a mildly worried expression. "She summed it up pretty well. When put this way, I'd say we have no chance of success."

Natsuki rolled her eyes. "If we stop and look at it like that, we'll never get anywhere. And despite the odds, we've already gotten safely out of Fuuka and recruited Shizuru, Suzushiro and Marguerite from the war-zone in Kyoto."

"Whoa, whoa," Nao looked taken aback. "Will your cheerleader squad be able take on more crazy? I'd say it's already at its capacity."

Natsuki regarded her dryly. "It's not _my _squad – it's yours as well, as of this moment."

"And HiME experience has proved that the more crazy, the better," Midori received two burning glares. "I mean that putting passion in the battle is a good thing."

They heard voices approaching their hiding place in the parking lot outside of the hot spring hotel. Nao nudged Midori urgently.

"You've all got some new gadgets, right?" She stretched her hand in expectation. "Give!"

As if she had completely forgotten, Midori smiled bashfully and fished out Nao's weapons from the bag. They gleamed in the light of the rising sun. At first they appeared like spiked gloves, but the moment Nao put them on, steel strings enveloped her hands and long sharp nails sprang out of the fingertips. The proud owner admired her new weapon with a smirk and moved her fingers, testing the steely glove. Next she clicked around her lower arm a pair of arm plates, the purpose of which was still unknown to the three HiME.

"Heavy, but it'll do," Nao poked at the truck with a sharp nail, startling even herself when a gaping hole in the metal trailer was left.

"You'll need to be more careful with those," Midori whispered, weary of the approaching footsteps.

Natsuki supposed that the whole design was centred around reinforcing the piercing force of the weapon and thus it was needed for Nao's fingers to be protected by the steel strings in order not to break during impact with an Orphan's hard scales. It was apparent that Searrs had put a lot of effort and thought in their equipment. She didn't believe that either the weapons or the Orion had been prepared overnight, and she doubted that Midori truly believed it either. However, it was necessary to deceive themselves even a little bit so that they could accept they were working with their enemy. They would look for the truth later.

Nao peeked from behind the truck and Natsuki adjusted the grip on her small firearms.

"Time to try these out," Nao extended her hand towards the approaching man. A buzzing was heard from the arm plates and in an instant red glowing wires shot out from them in a straight line at the victim.

Natsuki could only see Nao grinning victoriously and heard a startled yelp, soon muffled. With a jerk of her arm Nao made the wires retract back in the arm plates, as she dragged her pray behind the truck. The man looked up at the barrels of the guns and the blade of the labrys with wide eyes, his whole body up to his nose wrapped in a glowing red cocoon. He didn't even struggle.

"I'll let you talk," Nao knelt next to his head. "But if you shout or alert others in any way," she traced her finger down his temple to his cheek, drawing a thin line of blood, "I'll rip your throat out. Are we clear?"

He couldn't nod, but the answer was clear in his eyes. Nao's lips pulled up in a self-satisfied smile. "Good."

The man gasped for breath as the wires loosened up against his mouth, but didn't call for help.

"There's a Chinese girl in this town. Where is she?" Nao didn't waste time in starting the interrogation. "She goes by the name of Wang Nina."

"I don't know her," his voice trembled. "I just work here as janitor, please..."

"This is strange," Natsuki mumbled. "That guy in the police station didn't seem scared or intimidated a bit. This one's showing genuine fear."

"I'm sure that's because you weren't convincing enough. And what if this one's just acting?" Nao's claw flicked a damp forelock on the man's forehead, making him whimper. Natsuki shook her head.

"No, he has no reason to. Those creatures aren't afraid of parading with their superiority," she lowered her guns. "If he were controlled, I would reckon we'd be swamped with other puppets already."

Nao retracted her weapon. "Makes sense. But we still need to find Nina."

"Nina?" Natsuki lifted a brow at the familiar way Nao addressed the agent.

"Yeah," a shrug. "Till now I didn't know her name, but I got attached to my stalker. Why shouldn't I be comfortable to call China-girl by her name?"

Midori grinned, her labrys still pointed at the frightened man's sweating face. She turned towards him.

"You heard them, we still need to find that girl. I can guess she's the only Chinese seen around lately, you must know where she's staying at," she paused. "Where were you last night?"

The man swallowed and scowled as if trying to recall a missing memory.

"I don't remember," he confessed, looking aside.

"What's the last you remember?"

"I-," he shuddered. "Before waking up a few minutes ago, I remember that... I was cold. A big black nothing, really. Please, believe me."

They watched him for a few seconds without saying anything. The sound of an engine in the distance reminded them that the people were starting another day. Soon the three wouldn't have a lot of places to hide and they needed to find Nina as quickly as possible.

"What do we do with him?" Natsuki finally asked and stood up. She took a cautious look around the car-park. "We can't just let him go. And no, Nao, we can't kill him."

The younger girl clicked with her tongue.

"It'll be suspicious if he just disappeared," Midori closed her eyes in thought. An idea was shining in them when she opened them. "Let's lock him up in this truck."

Natsuki shrugged. "A bit rough, but it'll do."

"How is that not suspicious?" Nao's comment slid past unnoiticed.

They pulled out a couple of bandages from Midori's backpack and tied the man's mouth, arms and legs.

* * *

"I feel like a pervert hiding in these bushes," Nao grumbled, which made Natsuki throw her a side-long glance.

"Well, prepare for a long, perverted journey, because the hiding won't be over any time soon," she peeked over her shoulder and through the thick naked branches. "How do we find China-girl?"

"She's either already been caught and killed, or has escaped," Midori thought out-loud. "Personally, I'm hoping for the latter."

"Can't say the same," Natsuki grumbled barely audibly.

They heard a roar from not too far from their location. It was clear as day it wasn't produced by something of their world. The three sighed.

"Here's hoping for too much." Midori swatted away at a branch when standing up.

"Let's go save her."

"What if it's not her that's been attacked."

"Doesn't matter. If she's alive, she'll come as soon as she hears us fight."

"As will everyone out to get us."

"They already know we're here."


	10. Chapter 10

**_A/N: Hello! After receiving so many compliments, I truly feel guilty for updating so late. Though I'm afraid that I'll need to slow down on this fic a bit, since I need to rush and catch the train labled 'Real Life'. I'd rather write this stories than reports, but... You know how it is. Which isn't to say that I'm abandoning_ Jump Drive_! No! I've decided I'd finish it, just as my previous multi-chaptered story. Sure, it was three years after starting it, but still!_**

_**Thank you for the encouragement and comments! I've taken the liberty of not writing PMs with teary confessions of how much I love you, because I think you don't need that much cheesiness in your lives. I don't have anything besides words of gratitude towards you readers. *fireworks* Of course, if you've addressed something, I'll take the time and explain properly, if possible. **_

_**About the chapter; the action's back again (no kidding) and I hope it's not hard to follow. And, oh, we have other boiling issues! Whatever could they be? **_

_**You can either overlook or scream in rage at me for any typos and other mistakes. Ah, and another thing. I was having this as a thought (unrelated to the current story), and I felt compelled to inform my narrow audience of something. Many people in the HiME-fandom find Natsuki's obsession with mayonnaise irrational. It's not! Japanese mayo is one of the few joys in the life of a person living alone! Especially if they can't cook! If you haven't tried this godly substance, don't criticise mayolers for adding it to almost anything - it's the only thing that can make food edible sometimes. Rant over, sorry.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

Luck was on their side in only one aspect and it was the fact that there were nearly no currently occupied houses in the area the attack occurred. Most of the buildings were holiday villas or rental property, thus there weren't lives endangered when the group of three Orphans struck the area. Except for the lives of the HiME intercepting them, that is.

Natsuki could see them clearly and with detail from afar – they were that big. All three of them looked like the Orphans she had come to know all too well, no sign of those new types they had encountered at Fuuka and Kyoto. This almost managed to put her at ease, since she at least knew what to expect from such big opponents. Then it dawned on her that her beloved partner wasn't by her side, so their straight dash towards the mayhem hadn't been a good idea. Judging by the looks on her two companions' faces, the same thought had just struck them too.

They skidded to a halt and exchanged worried glances. It didn't seem any of them had a plan on how to counter the threat. Which was getting closer to their position. And so was somebody else. Among the dust lifted in the air Natsuki managed to make out a human silhouette running towards them. She observed from behind her guns' sights how the Wang girl was sprinting with all her might, doing her best not to get caught-up in the debris flung around by the monsters. Soon not only parts of villas were her problem though: the Orphans had realized that she had managed to get away and were beginning to focus on landing their attacks on her.

Natsuki didn't waste more time and started shooting her ice bullets at the heads of the deformed creatures. She couldn't even determine to what living forms they were similar; the Orphans kept growing weirder and weirder after her every encounter with them.

The creatures cried in annoyance at her feeble attacks and for a moment forgot about their exhausted target. The vacation houses were huddled on one side of the road Nina was being chased down, while trees were on the lake's. A simple plan formed in Natsuki's head.

"Nao! Take the right side, I'll take the left! Use the trees as leverage. Try to slow down those freaks with your sadist toys, or something," she dashed to the cover of the houses, sliding to a halt behind a wall, her back planting to it. "Midori, you're up at the front! I'll suport you from here."

With nothing more than a nod, Midori sprinted towards Nina, her labrys held in front of her, its motor buzzing for battle. Head-on charges were the Hero of Justice's specialty.

Nao stretched her arm and a couple of red wires shot out of the arm plates, wrapping themselves around the branches of a tall tree. She pulled herself in the crown and flung herself in a swift advance towards the Orphans.

Natsuki continued to shower the Orphans with ice bullets from her twin guns. She was aware that a few shots with either of her other firearms would drain her to the point of rendering her useless. While confidently advancing forward, she kept the Orphans busy enough, providing Wang with the chance to gain distance and at the same time helping Midori advance without being hindered much.

Even if the trees were still naked, Natsuki couldn't follow Nao's form. The only proof that Nao was there were the wires flashing red before disappearing and reappearing somewhere else. For somebody who hadn't seen action in some time, she was doing a very good job.

As was Midori, who had now passed Nina and jumped at the head of the Orphan at the front. Her first attack bounced off its platings and the monster opened its teethed mouth, a screech coming out of it. She used the opportunity to sink her blade into inner side of the Orphan's gaping mouth, thus pivoting herself around its head and ending up on the six-legged creature's back. The labrys was spinning above her head already, her eyes focused on the back of the Orphan's stumpy neck. The outcome was already clear.

The insect-like monster Natsuki was fixed on taking down buckled and finally crashed in a house next to it, as a series of bullets had managed to break off one of the blades, serving as legs. From the corner of her eye she saw Nina run past her at last, reaching the back of the small squad. She wanted to ask her a few questions immediately, but it was more important to completely dispose of the Orphan, which was already lifting its huge body from the rubble. Now entirely out of cover, Natsuki kept walking forward, unrelentingly shooting at the enemy.

The explosion from the Orphan Midori had taken care of blew her hair in her face and filled her nose with the burning smell of carnage. An image of the falling apart building of Fuuka Academy's church flashed before her eyes and the cold fingers of panic closed around her neck. Her firing let up for a brief moment, allowing the Orphan to jump at her.

Her legs moved on their own and if not for the pure force of her survival instinct, she would've been in the place of the hole in the road where the blades had struck. Biting her lip to the point of blood dripping down her chin, she unleashed another barrage of ice bullets at the Orphan. Seeing that at long last she had managed to breach its scales, she fired a few finishing rounds before diving for cover.

She lifted herself from behind the fallen beams and her eyes searched for Nao. The last Orphan had no time to react as red wires were already wrapped around its thin legs. Since the slim towering creature had no more than two of the limbs, it toppled forward. In a flash Nao latched onto its back, sinking with surgical precision her claws into both sides of its unprotected neck. It hadn't even touched the ground before it was dead.

The air trembled with the disposal of the final threat and after confirming that there weren't more Orphans close to their position, Natsuki turned towards Wang. The girl was looking at the team of three while still panting, but as all of them got closer she straightened up and her expression changed.

"Thank you, I owe you my life," she bowed stiffly, her sweaty bangs falling over her eyes.

"Don't thank us yet, Searrs," Natsuki narrowed her eyes. Nina lifted her head and regarded her with calm, behind which hostility could be easily sensed. It seemed that the feeling of mistrust was mutual.

"Are there more Orphans coming, Miss Stalker?" Nao leaned forward, hands on her hips. Nina shook her head, lips sealed, this provoking a victorious smirk. "Good. Now we can all be on our way."

She spun on her heels and started towards the town, but was stopped by a hand gripping her elbow. Natsuki pulled her around and stared at her, as did Midori.

"You're coming with us," Natsuki stated firmly, her gaze unwavering. Nao lifted her brow.

"Oh? Do you think I came here for recreation, Kuga?" She pulled herself free. "I'm here to hunt down the last of the criminals who ripped my family apart."

"What?" Midori threw a look at Nina, who looked away. Apparently she had failed to submit a report with such information, which could either mean she was helping Nao out, or that she had also been in the dark. Natsuki assumed the latter, knowing that underestimating Nao's abilities would be a mistake; a mistake a person who was a stranger to Nao was prone to make.

"The bastards were released from prison ahead of the term set," acidic words slowly crept out of Nao's mouth. "I already disposed of two of them. The last remaining one is in a prison in the North. Until he's dead, I could care less about the rest of the world."

"This is not up for discussion," Natsuki grit her teeth. Didn't Nao understand that now wasn't the time to be consumed in the want for revenge?

"No, it's not," Nao bristled up. "I'm doing this. And you're either helping me, or..."

Her sharp claws flashed and next thing Natsuki knew, they were millimetres away from her eyes. She stayed glued to her spot, her hands still holding tightly one of her guns.

"Or you're going to kill me here?" She asked with a steely voice. "If you kill me, the chances we find the reason behind this invasion will become slimmer. Do you hate humanity that much?"

"You think that after I helped saving it the last time I came to love it?" Nao didn't move, her eyes fixed on Natsuki. "That I'd gladly throw my life away for the people who abandoned me and let free the criminals that ruined my life? Don't make me laugh!"

"Nao-chan..." Midori took a step forward. "There are plenty of good people who are worth protecting."

"You're spouting your naïve stories again, teach!" Nao's burning eyes shifted towards her. "I spent the last two years looking for those bastards! One I found in Tokyo, the second – in Sapporo. The third one committed a petty crime and was sent again to prison, one north from here. So now that we're finished with saving China-girl's ass, I'm headed there."

She lowered her claws and moved back a little. Natsuki slowly released the breath she was holding ever since the realization that all the time she had been at Nao's side in Tokyo, she hadn't noticed anything.

Nao turned to look at Nina.

"Tell Searrs thanks for the new toys," she smirked. "They'll come in handy. Though using this kinda drains me more than just physically..."

"That's because they don't use the power of the Star, but your own reserve," Natsuki holstered her gun. "You need to be careful not to over-use the weapons. How do you plan on offing that guy?"

"What's it to you?"

"I'm lending you a hand."

"Nacchan!" Midori gasped from behind her.

"Tell me where that prison is," Natsuki continued.

* * *

If the smoke in the distance wasn't a sign that Natsuki and Midori had found Nao, Mai didn't know what was. They had heard for sure the three explosions, even if they were riding inside the Orion and were a good distance away from where the smoke was rising from. Youko gunned the engine harder now that they had a clearly set location.

Upon arriving at the scene they were, unsurprisingly, greeted by the sight of the road suddenly becoming pot-holed, burning houses, and rooted out trees on the lake's side. There was evidence of Orphan activity, namely a few sturdy-looking limbs and a piece of a head, laying in a pool of purplish liquid. And in the middle of it all stood four figures.

The Orion pulled to a stop and all the passengers rushed to the smaller group. Their anxiety was caused by the scene unfolding in front of them – Nina was holding Midori from behind, while the latter was shouting at the remaining two. Natsuki and Nao both wore unreadable masks, not moved at all by their ex-teacher's outburst.

"I will not allow such blatant abuse of power!" Midori screamed, struggling to free herself from the secure hold Nina had her in. "This is war! It's bigger than any of us! Natsuki, please, see reason!"

She panted and looked pleadingly at the the two. Their attention shifted towards the newcomers.

Mai reached the arguing three first, Shizuru and Haruka right behind her. Their arrival caused a bit of a disturbance, judging by the reactions of their comrades.

"Natsuki, what's going on?" Mai was fast to get to business.

"How'd you get here? Did you find a ferry?" Natsuki asked with unhidden hope, ignoring her question. Mai struggled between frowning and grinning.

"No, regretfully," Shizuru shook her head. "We came by other means," she held her hand up, seeing the intent of another question, "which we'll discuss later."

Natsuki gave up on inquiring any further and turned to Mai. "There's been a slight change of plans."

"What?" Mai had the feeling she wouldn't like the reason behind that. She asked anyway. This made Midori renew her struggle and pull successfully away from the distracted Wang Nina.

"Mai-chan, talk them out of it!"

"Out of what?"

"Midori," Natsuki fixed the archaeologist with a hard look Mai had come to recognize as one which demanded submission. "We need everybody ready and focused for this mission. If even one of us HiME has doubts or doesn't feel like giving her all, this could endanger _all _of us."

"A petty revenge is no reason..."

Nao was on Midori before anybody could do anything. She wasn't able to push the taller woman to the ground, but her claws closed threateningly around the other's neck.

"Nao!"

"I dare you say that again," Nao hissed.

"Enough!"

The single command was pronounced with such intensity that Nao almost jumped back from Midori, who in turn snapped her head to stare wide-eyed at Shizuru.

"Thank you," Shizuru's posture relaxed a bit and her usual smile returned to her lips. "I know that the last days have been hard on all of us. For now, let us talk about what happened after we got separated."

Mai was grateful they had avoided another episode of infighting. She glanced at Tomoe, who was slightingly observing them from a distance. It didn't escape her that neither Nina, nor Tomoe seemed happy to see each other, even if they were fellow Searrs agents. On the contrary, they looked as if they would prefer to be anywhere else than here.

It was then that Mai fully realized that they were facing an enemy way more frightening and dangerous than the Orphans and the ones like the Obsidian Lord.

* * *

"Are you two insane?"

Due to three long years of constant abuse of her ears Shizuru managed not to cringe at Haruka's booming voice. The ones on the receiving end, however, didn't have Shizuru's experience, though they covered their discomfort quite well behind a veil of tedium.

"You're as annoying as ever, Suzushiro," Nao proceeded with unfastening her claws. As soon as she pulled them off her hands, the steel strings retracted back in the main plate. She let them rest in her lap and looked up at Haruka, who was ready to jump at her from the seat in front.

"You want to infiltrate a prison?!" Haruka didn't give up. "Even I understand how dire the situation is. You are aware what is going on, right?"

"I gave her a full briefing while we were searching for Nina," Natsuki answered in Nao's stead. She was sitting in the isle between the two seats, her back resting on the bike. "You can be assured that she may as well know a lot more than you do, Suzushiro."

"And you!" Haruka had now fully turned, managing to elbow Mai in the shoulder, who on her turn squished Nina to the window. Shizuru managed to lean out of the way in time. "How can you agree to something so outrageous?"

Natsuki regarded her silently.

"Honestly, the one thing I cannot agree with here was dragging in the rest of us," Shizuru spoke at last looking at Natsuki's reflection in the window. Green eyes returned the attention. "You keep acting without the consent of the others."

Tomoe, who was sitting right of Natsuki and behind Shizuru, couldn't miss the opportunity to carp at the Ice HiME.

"It seems Kuga-san self-appointed herself as something like a leader of our group," she sighed animatedly. "That's no good. We should choose somebody who at least doesn't have suicidal tendencies and anger management issues."

"Do you want an ice shard jammed up your ass, Marguerite?" Natsuki snapped back, provoking a 'told you so' smirk on her adversary's face.

"Anyway," she coughed in her fist, the red fading from her cheeks, "I don't remember saying that all of us have to take part in this. Only Nao and I will go – the faster this is over, the better. We'll meet up with you at another port. While we're at the prison, you make sure to secure a way for us to travel to the mainland."

As nobody could actually argue against on a basis different than a moral one, they kept silent. Shizuru noticed Midori gritting her teeth, her clenched fists shaking, however she also gazed forward mutely. Youko put a hand on her shoulder and the two exchanged a brief moment of word-less discussion.

_Natsuki, what are you trying to accomplish here? Who are you doing this for? _Shizuru closed her eyes in thought. Natsuki had always been spontaneous and acted more on emotion than reason. So what was the emotion that was driving her this time?

"Returning to the other topic," Midori spoke after a few minutes, "it seems your group was also caught by surprise by the citizens, who behaved as if nothing was wrong."

"Yes," Shizuru confirmed, her mind clicking back to the events earlier that day. "Though after what you told us about that boy and the population of that small town it has started making sense. It seems that the Orphans can manipulate people's minds."

"Not the Orphans," Midori was quick to correct her. "The Obsidians."

Shizuru chose not to ask about the name the archaeologist had assigned the creatures. They did need a way to call them, after all.

"Yes, them," she nodded. "It is still a frightening thought. About how many people do you think they can control?"

"Not that big of a number," Natsuki joined them. "It seemed that only the higher-ups in that first town were the ones being controlled, along with that boy. And from what you told us, the citizens you came across when you... um, came out from the tunnels didn't behave out of the ordinary. Right?"

"The people at the maintenance station didn't, no," Mai crossed her arms. "Though I find it unusual that they didn't send the authorities after us after the confusion we left behind."

"Hmm... that confirms that a large number cannot be controlled at once, I guess," Midori started imputing the new information in her tablet. "We need to report this to Searrs."

"Wait, what about Touya?" Nao spoke up.

"Yes," Nina also looked bothered at them. "When I followed Yuuki-san yesterday all of the people we passed kept surveying her and paid no attention to me whatsoever."

"Feeling ignored, Wang?" Unsurprisingly, the taunt came from Tomoe. Nina didn't turn around.

"Not the point. At one moment it was as if I didn't exist and in the next I was also forced to flee, because they forcefully kept me from following Yuuki-san," she went on. "I managed to hide for a while, but then those Orphans attacked. It was as if they knew exactly where I was..."

"Probably you were seen by somebody..." Natsuki mused and growled in agitation. "This is frustrating... Hey, when Kanzaki was controlled didn't he have some sort of pendant around his neck?"

"Yes, he did," Mai's eyes widened in realization. "And so did Mikoto."

"Midori!" Natsuki didn't need to say more. The woman was already working on the unspoken request.

"I can't reach Searrs HQ," she hit the panel. "Signal's completely gone now. I can't even reach Yukino through that secure channel."

"Dammit," Natsuki cursed. "We'll need to trust the ones left in Fuuka to deal with the situation. We can't even warn them... Youko, how long till we reach that road fork?"

* * *

"Not so fast!" Youko stood with her hands on her hips behind Natsuki, who had just unloaded the bike from the Orion.

"What?" She regarded the doctor wearily. Shizuru watched the exchange from afar.

"Before you go, I need to perform a check-up. That's why you took me along in the first place!"

"Uh, right..." Natsuki rubbed her neck. "Why don't you start from Nao and China-girl? Neither Midori nor I sustained any injuries this time."

After a brief silence Youko conceded with a nod. "But you're next."

"That sounds like a threat, doc."

"Because it is," with a last scrutinizing look Youko turned around and went to tend to Nina and Nao, both of which didn't seem to appreciate the attention.

Figuring it was her only chance to catch Natsuki alone, Shizuru approached her quietly. Her friend was engrossed in checking the bike's condition and didn't notice her at first.

"Natsuki," Shizuru's voice made her turn around, a bit startled.

"Yeah?"

Shizuru kept looking at her with a smile, but that didn't seem to put Natsuki at ease. In fact, it made her even more guarded than before.

_Should have known better, _Shizuru inwardly sighed and let her expression fall. This managed to pique Natsuki's interest.

"What's wrong, Shizuru?" Her green gaze never failed in sucking Shizuru in a violent whirlpool of clashing emotions.

"I," Shizuru cleared her throat, "I found this in my pocket."

She held out the bottle with Natsuki's medications. It was snatched away with such speed that she could barely see Natsuki's hand move, let alone react. When she tried meeting her eyes, she found Natsuki looking everywhere else but at her. She smiled; she was glad that at least that this part of her hadn't changed.

"Natsuki?"

"I'm fine."

"For the sake of all that we have behind our backs, I think you can at least show me some respect by not lying to me."

"I-," Natsuki hesitantly met her gaze, "Do you know what these are for?"

"Mai-san told me."

"Then this means that you don't need to ask me that question," she cracked a bitter smile. "Don't worry, I won't put us in danger because of this, I promise."

"This is not something that can be controlled by will, Natsuki."

"I know," she hesitated for a bit before continuing. "You're so strong, Shizuru. I truly admire you."

Not being able to reply, Shizuru kept watching her. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for what she was about to say. Right now she couldn't afford to be distracted by Natsuki's unintentional reference to the Carnival.

"I've been thinking, Natsuki," she began. "About everything that's happened between the two of us."

Natsuki stiffened and even though she tried to hide it, it was written all over her face that she would prefer to be in the company of an Orphan horde than with Shizuru. Instead of running away or saying she didn't want to hear it, however, she simply shakily motioned for her to continue.

"I am not sure this is the right time, but seeing that after today we will most likely have less and less opportunities to talk... Natsuki, I want to get a few facts straight. After you told me that you wanted us to part ways forever, for a few weeks I didn't know whether I was still breathing. Then I started feeling confused, humiliated, and after that – angry. I didn't know what I had done wrong; not after everything around _us _started to look up. I was insecure and scared that you would leave me, but instead you seemed to _want_ for us to become closer.

"And then, after the attack from Searrs you suddenly..." Shizuru paused for a moment. This wasn't going as smooth as she had pictured it inside her head. "I'm not going to lie to you – after the last couple of years spent apart from you, I resented the mere thought of ever seeing you again. But that only lasted until a few days ago."

Maybe it was impossible for her to recite all that she had been through in a smooth speech. Maybe the fact that she was concentrating more on not breaking down, rather than on her words, was a sign she needed to stop there. And maybe talking to Natsuki was a bad idea.

_Nevertheless..._

"First, I thought that the spontaneous joy that sprang in me simply by knowing you were nearby was due to the extreme fatigue and stress. But during the time we were on the road I had a lot of time to think; about the new threat, our affiliation with Searrs, where I stood in this mess, and about you. After hearing your reasons for pushing all your friends away I could begin to explain to myself your behaviour from back then. This does not mean I agree with the way you and Mai-san tried to resolve the issue."

"Shizuru, get to the point, please," Natsuki's low voice barely reached her ears.

_She's shutting me out again._

"Alright then. I will. We can't keep this up. We've been dancing around each other for far too long," Shizuru's ears were buzzing, and her heart was pounding against her chest so hard that it felt like it wanted to burst out and leave her standing there, like the empty shell she had become. "If we survive all of this, will you want me in your life, even as a friend? Where _are _we right now?"

At last, she had asked. Now wasn't the time to be sensitive about the glaring issue. Not when they could die tomorrow. For a moment the joy that she had gotten the load off her chest and the anguish she had relived while recalling the past five years clashed like two waves. The emotions rose together and at the time of their peak, cancelled each other before they fell in her heart's ocean with a rumble. Shizuru watched with bated breath how Natsuki's lips moved to form an answer.

"Where are we? We are right here, you and I," she extended her hand forward. "If you reach out too, we'll even be able to touch. And if we do, I will probably pull you in.

"Unlike you, Shizuru, I can't say I did a lot of thinking. Thinking about the past two years hurts too much and I certainly cannot think my way out of this recent shit-storm. I tried and look where it got us. Maybe your question should be 'where _will _we be'. Should we drift apart, stay like this, or get closer? That's up for _us_ to decide – I won't make it one-sided this time around. As for my wish, I can't word it properly. Not just yet. I'll show you when I feel I'm... when I feel we're ready.

"And now, before I say something more embarrassing," Natsuki scratched her pinkish cheek as she looked behind Shizuru, "I need to get my daily check-up before the hunt scheduled for dinner."

* * *

Mikoto's hands trembled with the exertion of just holding her sword. After the fifth Orphan she had slain, it had become heavier than ever. She was panting, gasping for a breath of fresh air, but all that filled her lungs was ash, smoke, and the unmistakable smell the Orphans carried around with themselves. Mikoto didn't know whether the other HiME could sense it. The stench of rotting organic flesh, mixed with the metallic reminder of the other substance of which the monsters were composed from.

She hated that smell. That is why she always tried to get rid of the Orphans as quickly as possible. Maybe for the others it seemed like she was strong and was disposing the monsters with ease. In fact, she was in such a hurry to end them that she put her all in her every strike. Never saving her energy, never thinking of the next wave that could be coming. And she usually didn't need to – she hadn't faced that many Orphans on her own before.

Another truth about why she pushed herself so much to drop those creatures was that she was absolutely terrified of them. They weren't like animals – they didn't kill to feed themselves. The Orphans simply killed for an unknown reason. Much like humans, she had come to understand. And out of every living form on the planet, the humans were the most dangerous. Combining that desire to murder with the body of a death-machine and you got an Orphan.

And now, Mikoto was being surrounded by more than she cared to count. Sweat was dipping in her eyes, her ears were pounding, and her knees were shaking. At least she had managed to assist the Searrs agents with helping the civilians get away. However, now she was left all alone in Fuuka Airport's cargo warehouse, with only the Orphans to keep her company. But like hell was she going to give up. Her brother and Mai would be so sad if she were to go down in such a place. And Natsuki and Nao would laugh at how weak she was, probably thinking that it was for the better for her to go this early if that's what it took to end her.

The grip around her sword tightened and she jumped at the nearest Orphan, slicing at its gaping mouth. She missed and the blade struck the ground, making a hole in it. Her speed saved her when she jumped out of the way of another attack. Her comm device buzzed.

"_Mikoto-chan, Akane-san and Fumi-san are en route to aid you! They'll be there shortly!" _Yukino's voice assured her that she was not forgotten, but Mikoto barely heard it. What was ringing in her ears was another sound, which she had thought she would never hear again. It wasn't a voice, but it did speak to her in a language she understood.

_Kill them all, _it repeated again and again. _Destroy **everything**!_

And she did, or at least she tried. By the time Akane and Fumi had come, Mikoto had already cut down three more Orphans. Had she not been knocked out a second later by the explosion from her last victim, she would have jumped at the other two HiME as well.


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N: Hello! Quick warning: next two weekends there will be no updates. **_

_**Now, on to the main events. Thank you for the reviews and flags! I think I corrected the spelling mistake that was pointed out in last chapter - much appreciated feedback. This chapter may seem a bit rushed and with a lot of empty plot and action holes. I decided not to rewrite it nevertheless. **_

_**For this story until now I 've been and keep doing some research. This time I had to read and watch a bit about Japanese prisons and their penalty system. It was quite interesting. So if you're interested, you can also waste some time with such reads (since you're already wasting so much with this one :D).  
**_

_** But the characters will soon leave the country and go to the continent. Whoo! A quick reminder that I can't possibly keep one-hundred percent true to real world facts and places... I'm using some immagination here. **_

_**Also, we're having some Haruka-pawning-sh*t this chapter (for the author's sole pleasure), so you can look forward to that. I promise that in the future installments there will be more explanations related to the Hime-verse. Until then, here's some randomly placed words to chew on.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

The rumble from the engine died and the sound was replaced by the swishing of the cold wind, accompanied by the crunch of Nao's steps on the snowy ground.

"This is as far as I can take us by bike," Natsuki dismounted the machine and joined Nao. They both stood at the bottom of a hill, not too far from the prison where they were headed. "That is, if you don't want to warn them that we're coming."

Nao shook her head.

"No worries there. I told them I'll come this week, so they should be expecting a visitor."

Natsuki looked at the sun peeking out from behind the clouds. It had taken them the whole night to navigate to this place and they were falling behind schedule. They needed to wrap this up fast.

"I didn't know it was so easy to arrange for a meeting with a convict. And to top it, you didn't specify a date. How'd you do that?"

"You sound impressed," Nao smirked and started walking down the narrow, winding road leading to the prison. Natsuki didn't bother to respond. "It wasn't easy, but I made it so that a few people owed me. You know how it works."

"I do," Natsuki breathed deeply and cracked her neck.

She was tired.

"What I don't know is how you're planning to off this guy."

Nao halted dead in her tracks.

"If you came only to try and stop me-," she spoke without turning around.

"Nah," Natsuki stood behind her. "I understand the need to end it. It's just that I want to know exactly what you want to do, so that I can be of help."

"When did you become so concerned with me?" Nao's shoulders shook with mirthless laughter. "I always hated your sense of justice. Where did that go?"

"I think you've mistaken me with Midori. When I see something that doesn't sit right with me, I want to crush it. That's it. I wouldn't call this justice."

"The Ice Princess went and said it again," Nao spun around, her usual cunning smile on her face. "Alright, I'll tell you everything."

* * *

Natsuki lay on the top of the hill, her body completely covered in snow, only the barrel of her sniper rifle sticking out a bit from the white pile. She always found it very convenient that the cold didn't affect her as much as it did others. That wasn't to say her fingers weren't frozen or that her feet were starting to get numb; it was simply that it didn't bother her.

Through her scope she watched Nao talking through the intercom with the guards. It didn't seem that the men guarding the walls were under the influence of the Obsidians, since they paid only the obligatory attention to the newcomer. If it went well, she would be let inside without much of a fuss. Natsuki flexed her trigger finger when the gates opened just enough to let in one person.

Even if it wasn't a heavily-guarded prison, the men there took every precaution to secure the location where minor-level criminals were sent. Natsuki thought that it wasn't very prudent to build such a facility in a valley, since, as it happened, she had very good visibility and could take a clear shot from a number of locations. Well, maybe it wouldn't have been possible if her weapon wasn't equipped with a thermal scope and she couldn't determine a person's position in case of a blizzard or mist. Still, she was lucky today turned out to be a sunny day.

"_When I enter it would be just time for the prisoners to be escorted to the labour buildings from the main facilities."_

Nao was right. The string of slowly walking prisoners, guarded heavily from the front and back, proceeded steadily from one grey concrete building to another.

"_I'll call the bastard's name. He'll know me and he'll know why I'm there. I won't even need to ask to see him later."_

Indeed, Nao did draw a man's attention towards her and managed to provoke the desired reaction.

"_Then I'll leave. Just a glance inside the prison will be able to give me an idea how to infiltrate it later. What? You don't think I can do it? Remember who you're talking to, Kuga."_

He stopped to stare at Nao, who didn't bother to linger any longer. She calmly turned around and headed for the gates.

Natsuki zoomed out, which made it possible for her to see the convulsively shaking guard on the wall. He stiffly pointed his machine gun towards Nao, who didn't seem to notice. But Natsuki couldn't shift to turn her muzzle and shoot the man down – all the snow would fall on her if she moved and it would cost her precious time.

For a second, time froze as her mind wrapped itself around the only thought that she needed to warn Nao to get out of there immediately. A short scenario played itself behind her closed eyelids as she held her breath. When she snapped her eyes open she exhaled along with squeezing the trigger. The bullet was aimed at Nao's direction.

* * *

Nao saw the fear in his eyes. He had recognized her and knew why she had come. And she saw what she needed to – her way in for later that day. For a moment she wondered when she had become so good in noticing the details in a guarded facility's layout. She supposed it was a result of her consciousness constantly trying to be vigilant and aware of escape routes, should the need to flee arise. It wasn't a skill she took pride in acquiring, but it had come in handy the past years spent in searching for a new goal in her life.

Her thin smile held the promise that she would be back soon. It was time to leave. She hadn't taken more than a few steps back to the gate when a gust of icy wind whizzed past her. Her whole body turned around just as the last criminal who had ruined her life clutched his chest with agony written all over his face.

_Kuga!_

But Nao didn't have the opportunity to stand and watch him falling to his knees and slumping to the ground, his blood oozing on the frozen earth. A series of bullets bore in the place where she had stood just a second ago.

She didn't even need to think when her hand rose in the direction of the attack and thin red strings shot out from the arm-plates under her thick jacket. They wrapped around the man and before the other guards could react to the unusual situation, Nao was already using her prey as an anchor. Even if the man was heavier than her, it was hazardous to rely solely on his weight to pull herself up. In the end however, she did end up standing on top of his unconscious body.

It didn't take a genius to understand what had just happened, but still it didn't make it easier to accept. All of her effort and hardship had lead to this one moment... and it had gone to waste. Anger burned at the back of her throat as she waited for the weight in her chest to rise and disappear. But her heart was as heavy as always, despite the fact that the last piece of her past was thrown in the abyss where she had banished all the rest. Again, she was left with no time to fully contemplate as the other guards recovered from the shock.

Nao threw one last glance down at the commotion surrounding the body of the last link to the memories of her broken family. It was over now. Without giving the guards a chance to apprehend her, she jumped off the tall wall, using the mobility her arm-plates gave her. As she made her escape, a few bullets went back and forth between the hill where Natsuki was hiding and the prison.

It was doubtful they would give chase, she thought, considering that their hands were full with dealing with the ice bullets and the prisoners, who didn't simply stand around waiting to be put back behind bars.

"Somebody's gonna get it," Nao rasped to herself, the cold air filling her lungs, as she kept running.

* * *

_It was only one person this time._

Natsuki had already started the engine and was waiting for Nao. Soon reinforcements would be sent, no matter by whom. Whether it would be the human authorities or the Orphans, it was of no importance. What they discovered was that despite all efforts, they were still found out and Nao had nearly lost her life because of that. How had they managed to predict where the two HiME were headed to...?

"Kuga!"

She couldn't bring herself to turn around, so she just sat with her hands stiffly gripping the handles, numb with the cold. Nao could be angry at her for eternity for all she cared. They needed to reach the other HiME, who were bound to be facing way more trouble than them. She took a deep breath and grit her teeth. The bike roared, urging Nao to hurry up.

Nao jumped behind her and roughly grasped Natsuki by the shoulders, painfully squeezing. No words were exchanged, the wind and the sirens in the distance filling the white silence. As the grip weakened, Natsuki kicked off and the bike slowly sped off.

A pair of hands unwillingly were wrapped around her waist, Nao seemingly doing her best not to lean forward and keep maximum distance between them as possible. This stood well with Natsuki, as she herself didn't know what to feel at the moment. What was logical was to experience shock and fear, for she had taken the life of another. HiME weren't supposed to kill outsiders. She knew that, but she had already gone too far to be able to return to that innocence. And so, instead of regret, the act brought back only unpleasant memories.

She was glad Shizuru had given back her medicines. Most likely without them Natsuki would be still under that pile of snow, shaking with horror as the ghosts of the agents she had killed two years ago whispered to her, making her relive her crime over and over again. She wished she were stronger than this.

* * *

Devoid of any sign of life. That was the only way Mai could describe the island's most northern town. Much like the other towns they had passed through, there were no people or even animals in the streets. It was as if the residents had evaporated, without leaving a trace behind. Empty shops, restaurants, houses. The snow kept steadily falling and Mai shivered.

"Judging by the snow covering the cars, I'd say there's been no one here for around three days," Youko stood next to a huge white pile, barely recognizable as a family van. Her naked hand brushed the windows and she peeked inside. She sighed. "I don't know what I expected."

"People continue to disappear like this, we'll be left with nobody to save," Midori uncovered the lid for the gas tank of the vehicle and pried it open. She slid a hose inside, the other end of which was connected to the Orion. Mai turned away and made her way through the snow-drifts of the road. It wasn't going to be easy to get further down to the docks, but their vehicle's tires weren't just for show.

She heard somebody ploughing behind her and turned to see that Shizuru was following her silently.

"It bothers you too, doesn't it?" the taller of the two asked. "These human abductions, I mean."

_Abductions._

"It does," Mai nodded. "I'm beginning to ask myself whether I should be more terrified that we stopped seeing bodies and are greeted by this silence instead. I mean, there are not even signs of any form of struggle or resistance."

Shizuru was silent for a moment, her eyes lifted towards the sky and her lips slightly parted, white puffs escaping between them. It didn't seem she was simply gazing at the falling snow, though. She held the look of somebody who was very far away, in a world different than a normal person's. Mai could never tell what the other girl was thinking.

"What do they want with us, I wonder?" Shizuru tucked away a strand of loose hair, but the wind had other plans.

"We're still looking... I believe that if we relentlessly continue, we'll reach the answers we need," Mai paused in recollection. "Though last time that didn't help."

It didn't seem Shizuru was listening to her at all.

"No people, no Orphans... No Hime star... Where are they?"

"If it's Orphans you want," Midori's voice came from behind them, "I think you'll have the chance to meet with them soon."

Mai was quick to get to the archaeologist's side. Midori pointed at the far end of the road leading to the sea. The shadowy figures were too large to be human and too deformed to be any kind of vehicles.

"Over there!" She heard Haruka, who was again scouting the area through a pair of binoculars. "There's the port and the boats are still intact! Though there are Orphans heading there right as we speak."

"Then we need to forestall them! Onto the Orion, people!"

In a matter of seconds everyone was in the vehicle, its engine already started and Youko maneuvering it onto the snowy road. She couldn't drive that fast without risking a crash, but she was doing a very good job nevertheless. They slid to a halt dangerously near the edge of the docks, but didn't fall in the water.

"Tomoe, Nina, Haruka, and Mai!" The four looked at Midori, who was already nearly knee-deep in the snow outside. "You four go and look for a boat big enough to carry all of us and the Orion. Shizuru and I will hold this position until you've secured a means of transport. Youko, you stay inside the Orion and be ready. Go!"

All of them executed the instructions without further questioning, even if they didn't agree. Mai waited for Tomoe and Nina to grab a pair of shotguns and together with Haruka they dashed in the opposite direction from where the Orphans would be coming.

Midori and Shizuru ran towards the front of the Orion, their weapons held at the ready.

"We don't know the enemy's numbers or if this is the only group headed here. Will the two of us be enough?" The way Shizuru evenly voiced her thoughts made Midori smile. The girl was as level-headed as ever. She was glad she was entrusting her back to her.

"I don't see any other choice than to hold up these guys until Natsuki and Nao are back. And if the other group encounters any hostiles, Mai-chan will be able to deal with them. She's strong, you know." Midori narrowed her eyes at the silhouettes becoming more visible and larger with every passing second.

"You keep implying that we need only to hold this position, sensei," Shizuru flicked her weapon and lifted it enough to be able to rotate it next to her body. The engine spun with building-up energy. "Do you think the two of us won't be able to defeat them?"

Midori didn't look at Shizuru directly, her gaze focused ahead, but the sheer confidence radiating off her person was tangible. Certainly, Midori hadn't seen her fight with her full potential before. And from what she knew, the young woman was on par with, if not superior to Mai and Natsuki.

"As I said, we don't know how many there are," the archaeologist said just before her breath stopped when a nimble new type Orphan appeared in front of them out of the blue.

Her labrys hadn't started moving when the creature was cut in half by the extending blade of the red naginata in Shizuru's hands. The two parts disintegrated silently in green mist. Midori gulped and allowed herself to look at the other HiME. She hadn't even moved from her spot, poised and ready for the incoming fight.

Just how strong was Fujino Shizuru?

* * *

Mai was glad she could fly, seeing how Tomoe, Nina, and Haruka were struggling to run as fast as possible in the deep snow. They didn't know if they would be swarmed any minute now, but they had to find a vessel before the Orphans managed to destroy them all.

"See anything from up there, Tokiha?" Haruka shouted, puffing with exertion. She was having a tough time keeping up with Tomoe, who was a distance in front of her.

Mai shook her head and yelled a negative. She heard explosions behind her, but didn't turn around to look. Shizuru and Midori would be fine – both of them were quite strong and more than enough to hold long enough against a few Orphans. Hopefully.

_I wonder how long till Natsuki and Nao-chan reach us._

The two had told them they wouldn't be that long, but... They were already late and if the HiME fighting here had to wait after boarding a vessel it would turn even more dangerous.

Suddenly something caught her eye.

"There!" She pointed the two on the ground in the direction of the medium sized ferry by the name of _Gekimaru_. Now the only problem was how to get it operating...

* * *

Six hours from Touya to Wakkanai. Three from Touya to the prison and another four to reach the other HiME. As hard as Natsuki was gunning the engine, they were running late. The road the bike was nearly flying down was along the icy waters separating the territory of their country and the one they were going to next. If they made it that far.

Nao hadn't spoken a word since they had departed and Natsuki preferred it that way. She didn't need much of a push for her thoughts to go along a very undesirable direction. Ever since she had set the self destructing protocol in the Searrs facility two years ago, and maybe even before that, she had began questioning the world and its ways. Was that world worth existing if it were people like her who saved it? If the only humans able to prevent a horrible end were twisted creatures like the HiME, did their world deserve to continue towards the future?

But every time she remembered one name and thought it wasn't pointless giving humanity a chance. She only cared for a select few people and if they were living a happy life, then she would do anything to keep them from harm. However, since she had failed, the ones standing most in harm's way were those she held close. It was... complicated.

"Do you see that?" Nao's voice, barely audible in the gushing wind, reached her ears. "Isn't that Tokiha over there?"

Natsuki allowed herself to look at the sky ahead. Indeed, the red flames dancing standing out against the grey clouds belonged to Mai. Having faced the Fire HiME's power many times Natsuki could recognize those scorching tongues anywhere, even if they weren't as bright as she remembered them. They bloomed like fireworks and twisted like snakes; but they weren't the only light illuminating the heavy with a snow yet to fall skies.

The road was slippery and Natsuki nearly lost control over the rumbling machine, so she was forced to return her full attention to driving. But she needed to alert the other HiME that they were coming.

"Nao! Grab the handles!" She shouted, her voice rasp from the cold. The younger girl did as told and now Natsuki could pull her shotgun from its secured place on her waist.

The road was straight, but tricky to navigate, so she needed to be fast – she didn't know how long Nao would be able to keep the bike on track, taking their uncomfortable position in consideration as well. They had entered a more densely built-up area of the northern town. It was time to wreck some havoc and make themselves seen. Unfortunately, Natsuki assumed, their fellow HiME wouldn't be the only ones alerted of their arrival.

* * *

Another spiked projectile flew at Mai's head, making her dodge and unknowingly get in the way of another barrage of attacks aimed at her from the Orphans ground side. Barely being able to repel the sharp objects, she turned to look at Midori and Shizuru's position. The two had their hands full as it was and could lend her no assistance. Mai needed to fend off the attacks sent towards her group by herself.

Her fiery whip swished at the gaping jaws at another monster and it hissed, backing off from Tomoe and Haruka who were working on releasing the ferry from the dock and getting it to move. Nina had descended down to the engines. Mai didn't know if the three possessed the abilities to control the machine, but she hoped that at least Tomoe and Nina, in their capacity of a Searrs agents, would know a thing or two about steering a water vessel.

"Got it!"

Mai turned for a moment to look at the triumphantly grinning Haruka, who was waving at her from the concrete dock, while Tomoe could be seen inside the ferry's cabin. The engines groaned to life and the air-borne HiME held her breath for a long moment before the water behind the vessel began spinning in whirlpools, signalling that the small transport ship had slowly began to part with the shore.

There was only one problem. They needed to get the Orion on board before the ship had left the premises of the port and had gone too far into the sea. Tomoe lowered the platform on the back and the side of the ferry and they loudly hit the edge of the dock. Mai could only observe for that long before she was painfully reminded that the Orphans were all but done with them.

The hit on her lower back sent her a good distance away from her team and her bracelets screeched with exertion to stop her from going any further. She grit her teeth and charged back, determined not to let the monsters reach Haruka, who was...

_Where the h-...? What is she doing?!_

* * *

"They did it!" Youko's voice reached them over the series of explosions following the death of another couple of Orphans.

Without wasting any more time, Shizuru and Midori used the confusion and the smoke screen to retreat to the Orion. The numbers of the monsters had certainly decreased, however both HiME were aware that if they continued to fight, they would lose. The Searrs weapons took too much energy from them and while this energy seemed to be renewable with due rest, it ran out rather quickly. Also, the devices, unlike their Elements, had the tendency to overheat after prolonged use, like in this case. They couldn't last more than fifteen minutes of non-stop combat, the HiME had realised.

When they were about to board the vehicle an urgent thought seemed to strike them simultaneously. For all the mobility the Orion had, it couldn't go any further not only because of the loose snow; somehow a few Orphans had managed to circle around it and now the team of three was surrounded.

Then suddenly they heard another rumbling engine, which was far too close to be the ferry's. Midori, her jaw hanging open, almost choked at the sight of the madly approaching huge, red snow-cat operated by none other than Suzushiro Haruka.

Wide-eyed Shizuru watched Haruka running over the smaller Orphans, crushing them under the heavy machine. The monsters, having been fully focused on annihilating the targets in front of them, had been also caught by surprise and even the two bigger ones staggered clumsily to the sides, crashing into cargo crates or small storage shelters.

The blonde ex-Enforcer let out a victorious shout and motioned for the group to follow her as she moved the snow-cat into reverse, crushing again what was left of the smaller Orphans for good measure. The plough at the front had done a good job at clearing a path for the Orion towards the ferry; the snow remaining on the machine was stained with steaming purple and green liquid.

A fierce growl from the nearest Orphan, now having stood up from the splintered cargo, was their cue to jump into the Orion and follow Haruka down the cleared path. Youko overtook the slower snow-cat and sped towards the ferry. In a matter of seconds the SUV skid to a halt on the wet and slippery metal surface of the sea vessel.

Mai landed next to it just when Midori and Shizuru stepped on the deck, weapons at the ready. They expected Haruka to operate the snow-cat back towards the ferry and join them so that the group to depart. Instead, two pairs of eyes followed how Haruka manoeuvred the heavy machine around and continued down the buried in snow road, which went alongside the shore.

"Set out!" Mai shouted and the ferry wailed in consent to her command.

"What are you doing?" Midori angrily turned to the Fire HiME who was already up in the air. Any further outbursts were halted by the hand Shizuru put on her shoulder.

Midori silently sent off Mai and watched her head in Haruka's direction. There was a considerable number of Orphans on the snow-cat's tail, clearly bent on at least devouring the vehicle along with its operator, now that the HiME were out of reach.

"Marguerite!"

At Midori's yell, Tomoe lazily popped her head out one of the cabin's smeared windows. She lifted her brows in a silent inquiry. Shizuru thought it was a whole miracle she played along with their plan up until now.

"Tokiha-san saw Kuga-san and Nao-san approaching from the east earlier," Nina re-emerged from a trap-door and sat on the deck, her legs dangling next to the ladder she had used to climb up. "It seems they are simply making a runway for the bike."

"A runway?" Youko stepped out of the driver's seat. She also had realised the plan. "That's a bike, not a plane! It can't simply lift off and land on the ferry's deck."

Shizuru sighed and turned to observe the snow-cat's advance. The _Gekimaru_ was moving west, parallel to the shore and was soon going to near a gore where the road turned south. Mai knew how Natsuki's brain worked all too well.

"Don't be too sure, doctor."

* * *

"I expected a higher survival rate when joining up with other HiME!" Nao cried from behind her, their earlier disagreement put aside for the moment; or more like shoved aside unceremoniously by more urgent matters.

The red-headed young woman was clinging tightly to her, probably scared that even only by breathing the bike would lose balance and crash. Into an Orphan, because their path went straight trough the horde chasing the snow-cat Haruka and Mai had just slammed into the railing and sent into the sea. That had happened a good distance ahead of the speeding bike, but Natsuki could swear she saw Haruka waving frantically at them. Or maybe she was feeling uncomfortable with once again being held in the air only by Mai, who could end her life just by loosening her grip a bit. It didn't matter either way; the two would reach the sailing ferry in time.

Question was whether Natsuki and Nao would be able to do so, especially when the Orphans slowed down and turned towards them instead. Nao stiffened for a moment before relaxing acce[ting what was to come. She apparently was ready to fight if needed, since Natsuki had to concentrate on evading. It was going to be Kyoto all over again.

* * *

Shizuru stood at the end of the lowered platform, tightly gripping her naginata. Natsuki and Nao weren't going to make it at this rate. As much as she had faith in Natsuki's driving skills, she could clearly see that with so many obstacles, the bike couldn't gain the required speed for the planned jump. Even if it reached the hole the now sunk snow-cat had made and did manage to launch towards them, it wouldn't reach.

_All for the sake of a single man's death. What were you two thinking?_

It couldn't end like this.

Mai and Haruka nearly crashed onto the deck somewhere behind her and she heard rushed footsteps. Then – a rising argument. Mai was insisting on going back to the shore and helping the remaining two HiME.

"Quit with the recklessness! You'll all end up dead!"

A shift of the growing gap of dark waters between the gore and the _Gekimaru_ caught Shizuru's attention.

"Cut the engine! Put the ship on reverse!"

The waves became bigger than what could be considered normal and steam began rising from the foaming sea behind the ship. Shizuru opened her mouth to warn the others, but choked on the burning smell of sulphur. She watched it rising through tearing eyes.

"Too late for that."

The back of the ferry rocked, but everybody except for Shizuru was engulfed by the heated argument.

"We _won't _leave them!"

They didn't see the twenty-metre long snake Orphan until its hiss tore through the air, as if splitting apart the sky and earth. Shizuru barely managed to jump back when acid landed in front of her legs. A pair of blazing red eyes fixed the speechless crew of the _Gekimaru_.

* * *

"Perfect!"

"No! _Not perfect!_ **Don't!**"


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N: Hi, there! Long time no see! Here's the promised update. Can't guarantee when the next will be, but I'm still writing, so rest assured.**_

_**I'll allow myself to reply to Icemera's review here, since it raises a good point. **_**Jump Drive**_** takes off three years after the anime ends and two years after the fake movie trailer released by Sunrise. Since the trailer was very vague and left places for interpretation, I decided to take this opportunity and write a Post-Carnival story. The thing with Natsuki's mental issues is something I thought up, just to make the plot a little bit more interesting. The problem started occurring during the thought-up ark of HiME vs. Searrs II. In a sense, **_**Jump Drive**_** may not possess the conventional Post-Carnival features. I, uh, do realise that in fact it's kinda left of cannon. But I like the thought of a darker Mai-HiME, since I found the end a little bit too sweet.**_

_**Well, I hope this explanation makes it a bit clearer? (By the way, I'm a big fan! Thanks for reviewing!)**_

_**As for the rest of the lovely reviewers with all your comments: I'm really happy to be able to entertain you still! Indeed, we'll be having more obstacles along the HiME's way to the so-called Final Boss Battle of World Destruction. I don't know about Jump Drive being unpredictable, but I'm glad it's at least attention worthy. **_

_**I apologize again for any and all mistakes in this installment. I hope they don't get in the way of your enjoyment!**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

Nina was the first to shoot, followed by Tomoe. Though their rounds bounded off the scaly beast's head and it again hissed at the group, spitting acid all over the deck.

They ducked for cover behind the few crates and the Orion. The crate Shizuru had chosen as cover melted right in front of her eyes. If they didn't kill the creature, their whole ship would sink, along with them, she realised. And who knew what else was lurking under the water's surface.

Emerging from behind her ruined cover, Shizuru was quick to extend with a swing her blade at the Orphan. Backed by the fact that she was closest to it, her attack seemed to have worked, as the giant snake swished and cried out; the lower part of its jaw dropped with a splash in the sea. This and the monster's thrashing in pain rocked the ferry even more and all on board lost their balance and fell.

Shizuru whipped her head around to see if anybody else could defend at the moment. All the HiME were disoriented and on the ground. An infuriated cry signalled that the Orphan was launching another assault.

But the strike didn't come, as the creature froze for a moment before something came flying from above its head. The Orphan collapsed forward violently into the sea, with big waves following the impact. Shizuru recognized the silhouette now flying towards her as Natsuki's bike, with two figures on top of it. In order to avoid a head-on collision, she slammed her back to the deck, pretty much sure she had managed to permanently glue herself onto the surface. The bike's tires passed mere inches above her and the hot gust of steam managed to further irritate her sore eyes.

What followed was a loud crash and an equally noisy voicing of contradictory opinions under the form of threats of bodily harm and sexual assault. It seemed that Natsuki and Nao were both alright even after that ridiculous stunt. And judging by the lack of the otherwise obligatory explosion, so was the bike, the Orion, and the Gekimaru. However, the followed rumble hinted that the whole ordeal wasn't over yet.

Shizuru wasn't able to follow all that well what transpired next, as it was over almost instantaneously. An enraged screech was silenced by a couple of gunshots coming from different fire-arms and another rocking experience later all fell quiet. Except for the chaotic cries coming from the shore of the frozen island, but the Orphans there obviously couldn't do much any more.

Silence engulfed the improvised crew of the Gekimaru. During it Shizuru was finally able to recover her bearings and shakily got to her feet, leaning on her naginata. Half of the others were still laying on the deck in awkward positions, while the rest were frozen in a crouch, their faces at the direction of the island. Somebody groaned and she realized the voice belonged to Nao, who had somehow managed to entangle herself in her own strings.

"I want this weapon put in claim, Searrs," her lime eyes shifted towards the expressionless Nina, not too far from her. Still, the red-headed troublemaker managed to quickly free herself and the red wires retracted with a swish in her arm-plates.

"Good thing those guys can't fly, huh?" She was now standing at full height, armed hands on her hips.

"Please, don't give them any ideas," Midori crawled out from under the remains of a small crate. "We're vulnerable enough as it is."

"Don't worry," Nao waved her hand dismissively. "We'll just fire off Kuga The Human-cannonball at them."

Natsuki didn't miss the opportunity to glower at her long-time something-like-an-adversary.

"Shut it, slackliner," she replied and also got up from her crouch. "Better practice your act more instead, before you manage to hang yourself off a tree."

"Hey, hey, remember who helped you with your little stunt!" Nao leaned forward and sneered. "You'd be fish food if not for me. You want to try maim yourself again? This time I won't lend a hand!"

"As much as I'd love to see both of your performances," Tomoe dryly interjected, "we have more pressing matters at hand."

"Fuck off, Bluebeard!" The retort came simultaneously from the two arguing HiME. Their audience, still recovering from all the action, regarded them with a mixture of perplexity and amusement. Tomoe seethed at the insult.

"My hair's teal! _Not_ blue!"

"How did this turn into a circus company...?" Mai tiredly rubbed the back of her head and winced. "Anyway, putting what happened aside..."

Nao narrowed her eyes at Mai who fell silent to the act.

"Kuga nearly killed me. I'm not putting this aside."

"And we were all almost killed, because you decided to carry out your revenge just when we needed you most, Yuuki-san," Shizuru finally decided to step in. She wanted to talk to Natsuki and the faster they were done here, the better.

"Defending her, huh, Snake lady? Besides, couldn't you have tamed that creature just now? You've some experience in the area, after all."

Shizuru did her best not to scowl at the tone she was addressed with, though she had long accepted she couldn't expect any better from Nao. She deserved it, after all.

"Cut it off already, Nao," Natsuki stepped forward and put away her weapon. "And Kiyohime was a hydra, not a snake."

Before anybody else could make any more statements, Youko announced that she would very much like to immediately carry out a check-up. Being weary of the doctor's bad side and the consequences of getting there, nobody argued.

* * *

All of them had settled on bunk beads in the engineering of the ferry. It had been designed for travelling close distances, so of course it wasn't in possession of something like a bedroom or a kitchen. But being a Japanese vessel, it did have a bathroom. And after taking advantage of it for a very short period of time, Natsuki found herself up on the deck, instead of choosing the confinements of the bulk.

She sighed when she saw the damage the Orion had taken. Some of the Orphan's acid had made a hole in its shielding near the front passenger's seat, which made it a vulnerable spot. What was worse was that they had no means or knowledge on how to fix it. They needed to avoid any further harm until they reached the facility in Russia, where they would receive help from Searrs's engineers. Or at least, from Miyu. Natsuki was pretty much sure that the android could do almost anything. Except cooking.

The wind kept ruffling her wet hair, pushing it into her eyes. She was afraid she might get a cold, however she found the splashing of the waves against the Gekimaru's hull quite calming. And she needed the calm. However, not to think. Quite the opposite, actually. She wanted to stop all thought process and just stand there, empty and unfeeling. Her heart had to rest a bit. Unfortunately, the salty air did bring bitter memories and Natsuki sighed in resignation.

_Is there nowhere left to escape?_

Leaning on the guard rail she gazed on into the darkness. She had no idea if their course was correct; the HiME were forced to rely on the two Searrs agents in order to successfully reach the continent's shores. Unconsciously she stroked the small bulge the shard made under the leather glove. It hadn't reacted the whole day and she wasn't sure whether to be glad about it. The visions surely possessed valuable information that only needed to be interpreted... but she needed to have a more careful look. Thus arose the necessity of figuring out how to provoke a vision. Was it so easy as simply going to a ground humans considered as sacred and letting the stone do its job?

She didn't know. With her head buried in her hands, she didn't hear the person approaching her.

"Natsuki seems more distressed than earlier. Is it because everything that has happened sunk in?"

That voice was like a melody, lulling her and assuring her that she was going to be alright. She wasn't alone.

"Shizuru," she turned around, her stern expression melting away. "Shouldn't you be downstairs with the others?"

"No," her hair waved as she moved her head negative. "It's my turn to keep watch now. Marguerite-san and Wang-san will also be changing shifts soon. It's not wise to have only one person on stand-by during the night, so together with the others we decided to take turns in patrolling the deck."

"Oh?" Natsuki lifted a brow. "When does my shift start?"

"Natsuki doesn't have a shift tonight," Shizuru smiled, her hands clasped behind her back. "I'd suggest you go downstairs before you catch a cold."

Natsuki smiled a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her neck, looking at her feet. "Yeah, that would be nasty, but..."

Shizuru hummed questioningly at her and regarded her with a hint of surprise when she slumped to the ground, her back against the railing.

"I'd prefer to stay here with you for a bit, if that's okay."

"Like that?"

"Mhm."

"On the ground?"

"Yes."

"In the cold? You'll freeze."

"I'll go back soon, promise."

Shizuru couldn't argue and wrapped her jacket tighter around herself. White puffs came out of her lips when she replied she'd be happy for Natsuki to keep her company for a little bit while longer.

* * *

Fumi pushed aside another pile of papers and allowed herself to let out a frustrated sigh. Confined in the cramped archive room, she had been going through information for hours. She had barely had any rest after that operation, during which she and Akane had assisted Mikoto in saving those civilians. There had been no sign that there would be an attack, yet Searrs had somehow found out in the last moment. Though the fact that the intel hadn't been accurate almost cost Mikoto's life. The girl was now resting in her quarters.

Occurrences like these managed to keep Fumi very weary of the foreign organization. Searrs had always been shady and she had fought against them ever since she became an agent for the First District. And she was accustomed to being surrounded by lies, which only made spotting them easier. If something, the HiMEs' alliance with the organization was just that – a lie. An illusion, meant to force them to lower their guard. Though why Searrs would want them out of their way was still a big unknown.

The Headmaster closed another file and leaned back in her chair. Her eyes lifted to the weak light of the surveillance camera. By letting her go through these archives Searrs made sure to tell her that there was nothing she could use against them in here. Or at least, nothing that Fumi would notice. They were in for a surprise, however. There was more to the HiME than she let on – she was no stranger to the shady games that went within such organizations. She knew where to look and was sure that she would spot what she needed.

There had been no news from Mai's group for a couple of days, which worried her. They were on their own. But overcoming impossible odds had always been the HiMEs' speciality. Fumi only hoped that they would all make it in time before they were all obliterated.

* * *

Shizuru leisurely paced back and forth the deck, throwing an occasional glance at Natsuki, who didn't seem to be noticing her. It was as if she was lost in her own world, with thoughts far too distant from Shizuru's for the older girl to try and comprehend them. Even if she didn't want to believe it, Natsuki had changed, but whether it was for the better remained to be seen.

"You want to talk."

The simple statement made her smile. She sneaked a peek at the dully lit cabin on the other side of the ferry. Nina was facing away from them.

"Well?" Natsuki prodded, her eyes still closed. "I was thinking of going back in, but couldn't bear the thought of leaving you here without giving you the chance to say what's on your mind. Surprised I could tell? I've become better at noticing such stuff, you know."

"Indeed you have," Shizuru closed the distance between them, not wanting to speak too loudly. "But your spontaneous behaviour has failed to be converted to anything else of more virtue."

"That jump earlier? I thought you liked that part of me." Natsuki finally lifted her head and looked at her. Shizuru wondered how much the younger girl had prepared herself in order to hold such a calm expression.

"I do," she admitted. "Why did you decide to help Yuuki-san?"

"I told you before: Nao can be of big help if she is fully committed to the cause. I think there's no argument there."

"Sugiura-sensei wasn't pleased at all. Neither was I, or any of us for that matter."

"Stop calling her with that title. She's Searrs now, you know. It'd do you good to remember it. She must have made some kind of agreement with them in order to be granted access to such an important project like this one. And we still don't know what she promised them," Natsuki cleared her throat. "And returning on topic... I wasn't that thrilled with going to that prison, either. It had to be done though."

"And what if back in Kyoto I had told you I wanted to settle some personal matter with my parents? Would you have willingly risked the mission to help me?"

Natsuki smiled at her. "That's silly. You're not the type of person to do that."

"I've changed. As have you."

The smile faded to concern. "Speaking of your parents..."

"I don't know. They're overseas, overlooking a business deal in China," Shizuru let out a shaky breath. "I just wish I could tell if they were fine."

"We can try and find them if you want to."

"Natsuki already said I'm not the type of person to make such a request."

"Which you denied after. You said you've changed."

"Don't you believe me?"

"I'm not sure. You still look like the same Shizuru to me."

Shizuru gracefully covered her smiling lips and hummed with amusement.

"And if I'm talking to the same Natsuki I know, then she's hiding more than she's letting on. Natsuki," she looked down at her, "what happened to your hand?"

In the weak light from the cabin it was hard to distinguish even her conversation partner's face, but Shizuru had learned to recognize all of Natsuki's emotions even with the slightest change of posture. The green eyes flickering away from her for a second and the twitch of dark eyebrows spoke that Natsuki had been suspecting that Shizuru was aware, but had continued to hide it nevertheless.

"Is it something related to the artefact?"

"I- yes."

"Could you show me?" Shizuru gently asked, as if consoling a small child.

Natsuki nodded and took off her glove.

* * *

She admired how well Shizuru managed to cover her shock and was surprised that there was no trace of disgust in her friend's eyes.

"Natsuki, how?"

"During the Orphan raid of the laboratory one of those new monsters and I jumped for the artefact. They wanted to destroy it and I – to save it. We simultaneously reached for it and... it exploded," she swallowed and wet her dry lips. The mere memory of what had followed made her involuntarily shake. "Before coming to, I saw a vision. The Hime star was surrounded by Orphans. I was being watched by the Obsidians and- I have never felt such overwhelming fear, Shizuru. Desperation... I don't know if we have a chance against them."

Shizuru slowly reached out and took Natsuki's hand in her own. Her fingers stroked the skin around the shard with feather-like gentleness. Warm rubies silently assured her that she could continue to speak without fearing what she had to say.

"I can't stop thinking about those visions... I want to see more of them, but at the same time I'm so scared. These lines keep spreading and I'm not sure if they're not _changing me_. What will happen if I don't find a way to remove this shard? Did this artefact belong to the Obsidians or to some other race? And if it is indeed of Obsidian origin, will I end up being a puppet for them? Sabotaging our mission and leading all of us to our deaths." Hot tears had begun to roll down her frozen cheeks without Natsuki noticing at first. She didn't make to wipe them away. "Shizuru, I... May I ask something of you?"

"Anything," Shizuru cupped her wet cheek and smiled reassuringly.

Natsuki could tell that her friend really meant her reply in its entirety. It was hard to voice her request and she almost choked at the words in the beginning, but her words came out clear in the end.

"If- if I... If I end up betraying the HiME, please kill me."

That's right. Shizuru was the only one she could trust with a task of such importance. She wasn't afraid of dying. Natsuki was afraid of living long enough to see herself being instrumental in ending the other HiME and the world itself. Cowardly as it was, she needed to request this of Shizuru; the other logical choice was Mai, but she knew that her good-natured friend would hesitate. Mai would try and look for another way, however that might prove a worse decision in the long run.

A breath later Shizuru's hand connected painfully with her cheek and her head snapped to one side. Before Natsuki could react, she was being held tightly against a comforting warmth she had missed so badly the past years. Shizuru was shaking.

"Natsuki is as selfish as always," she whispered, her chin resting on the top of Natsuki's head. "Such an outrageous plea... Have you given up already?"

"No," Natsuki replied, her ear pressed against a thundering heart. "I haven't. I want to live together with everybody, laugh with all of you. Greet the next day holding hands with you... But if my existence itself obstructs that future-"

"I understand your fears," Shizuru soothed her with stroking her tangled by the wind hair. "I respect your courage to ask this of me, but don't think I won't do everything in my power to save you first. Only then, when all hope is lost, will I consider to fulfil your request. Until that time comes, Natsuki _must _stay alive. We need all of the HiME to end this."

Natsuki closed her eyes and hesitantly wrapped her hands around Shizuru. When was the last time she felt this safe?

"I'm sorry," she repeated in a whisper between quiet sobs.

When had she last breathed in that calming scent?

"I'm sorry."

Why had she ever chased her away?

Shizuru said nothing.

_Fools. We are such fools._

* * *

"In the end we couldn't figure out what was blocking the signal in Hokkaido," Midori sighed and leaned back on her messy bunk bed. "I wish we could've stayed a little bit longer and searched for the reason."

"And gotten ourselves killed," Nao made a snarky remark from her spot, above the archaeologist's head. She dangled her feet down and deliberately kicked at the bushy ponytail. "So, where were we headed again? Siberia?"

Mai nodded, though she was sure that Nao couldn't see her in the dim light. The cramped space was not only dark, but one could barely move without bumping in somebody else. In her case, she managed to elbow the sleeping Haruka.

"That's right. After that we'll be headed for Italy."

"If we were doing this by plane or a heli, I wouldn't be that worried, though," Midori admitted a trace of hesitance in her voice. "Instead, we'll have to search for a lot of fuel for the Orion, even if we manage to proceed up a river when we reach the continent."

The light bulb swayed with the waves and Mai had the ill premonition she was going to start feeling sick very soon. She contemplated on going outside, but the one thing that worked against that idea was that here it was warm.

"Where are Natsuki, Tomoe, and Nina, by the way?" Haruka mumbled, sleepily observing the small quarters.

"On the deck," Shizuru answered her, popping inside from the lid and going down the steel ladder. It creaked with her every step until her feet touched the floor. "Marguerite-san and Wang-san are discussing our course and Natsuki is on patrol. Aren't you supposed to be up with her, Suzushiro-san?"

"Yeah, yeah," Haruka shoved Mai aside when she got up and stretched. "We've been rocking on this vessel for the past three days. Won't we reach land soon?"

"Can't be helped," Midori pouted while playing with the coat's helm of the sleeping on the opposite bed Youko. "Those two are trying to navigate the ship using only the currents, since we don't have a lot of fuel left in case of emergency."

Nao clicked her tongue. "What emergency?"

"_All hands on deck_!"

The ones awake exchanged worried looks before rushing up the rusty ladder.

* * *

Mikoto woke up in cold sweat. She bolted upright and called for Miroku in her mind, her right hand outstretched, awaiting the calming weight of her Element. Her sword didn't come.

Her memories of why exactly she was in her room and how she had gotten there were blurry and confusing, but she remembered one thing clearly. Something she hadn't wanted to feel ever again, especially after almost taken Mai's life: the undeniable and raw urge to kill. And it had been directed at Fumi and Akane.

She needed to see the other HiME and tell them!

Her feet carried her to the door and it slid open on command.

But... tell them what?

She stood in the corridor, mid-step, her eyes glued to the ground.

No, Mikoto shook her head, she would wait and see if this hadn't been an accident. That's right; after fighting off so many Orphans she had felt exhausted and reacted aggressively towards everything that moved. Pushed forward by the sole thought of survival she had mistaken the two HiME for more enemies.

Akane's voice reached her through her inner turmoil and she peeked around a corner. She could see Akane, her back facing her, talking through a console on the wall. Part of the face of the person she was having a video conversation with was visible – it was Kazuya.

"Yes," Mikoto heard him say. "I'm feeling fine and I'm treated very well here. Akane-chan, can't we meet personally? I want to see you with my own two eyes, not through some small screen. I wish to hold you."

"I assure you, I'm also doing fine," Akane let out a soft laugh. "I want to meet with you too, Kazu-kun, but this involves too much time-consuming procedures. By the time I reach your facilities, I would need to head back for my shift. I've tried already, without you knowing. Please, Kazu-kun, bear with me a little while longer."

There was a short pause, during which Mikoto hid behind the corner and pressed her back against the wall.

"I understand," Kazuya replied. His voice was faint, but Mikoto could make out the disappointment. "I don't want anything bad happening to you, Akane-chan. I love you."

"Don't worry," Akane laughed again. "I'm strong, you know! I'll be with you in no time. Just trust me and the other HiME, okay? And now, I need to head to my post. I'll call again later. I love you, too, Kazu-kun. Stay safe."

A click signalled that the conversation was over and the sound of Akane's steps indicated that she was headed for the living quarters' exit. Mikoto slumped to the ground and clamped her sweaty palms to her ears. If she hadn't been knocked out, Akane wouldn't have talked to Kazuya just a few seconds ago. A few days ago the young woman had shared that she and Kazuya had planned on getting married in a few months.

_I was going to end it._

* * *

"What did you call us for?"

Mai rushed to her side soon after the alarming shout. Natsuki lifted her hand and pointed beyond the ship's bow.

"Land," she announced, provoking smiles on the tired faces. Not all of them were handling the ocean trip well. "We'll reach it by sunset and disembark on shore soon after. We can be on the move by nightfall."

"Aren't we going to rest at least a little bit?" Nao leaned on the rail. "We've been rocking back and forth for the past few days. Let's enjoy the solid ground till the morning."

"You'll be enjoying it for the rest of the mission," Natsuki snapped back, the reigns on her calm more loosened compared to a couple of days prior. "Every second we waste goes to the Orphans and Obsidians. You _can_ wait and enjoy the scenery, but know that it'll probably be the last time you have the chance, ever. We need to gather all our forces ASAP and-"

"And what? What then, Kuga?"

It was only a few steps that separated them, but Natsuki knew that they could be literally on each others' throats in an instant. She clenched her teeth, but not only because Nao was again trying to agitate her. In reality, she didn't know the answer to that question. They gather the HiME, return to Fuuka and then what? The Orphans strike with an overwhelming force and wipe them out, after which they wipe humanity off the face of the earth. What did she hope for?

"We find the Hime star and we destroy it once and for all."

"There is no Hime star!"

"Then explain why there are Orphans! Explain why the Obsidians haven't launched a full-scale attack against us!"

Nao looked like she was going to say something, but closed her mouth and just looked darkly back at her. All of them were looking at her, actually.

"The Orphans may also be looking for it and that's why they were after the artefact. Maybe they too need the Star and I don't want to risk them finding it before us! So we get to it, blow it to pieces and make sure it stays destroyed for good," she made a sharp in-take of cold, salty air. "The whole world is fighting, thus buying us time! Precious time! We _can't _rest."

"I understand where you're coming from, Nacchan," Midori ventured to interrupt the staring contest with a tone begging Natsuki to calm down. "But there's something else that's been bothering all of us. I can't deny that people are dying, however that's not all. They are _disappearing_. We all agreed that this is more than disturbing."

"Indeed it is," Mai agreed, her obvious aim being the change of the conversation's course, than to state an opinion. "I'd also like for us to take a look at that."

"I'm also with Tokiha," Haruka butted in, her chin held high and eyes sparking with determination, despite the dark bags under them. "If those monsters are taking people, it's our duty to find out that purpose and stop this atrocity!"

"When did it become _we_?" Nao lowly whispered, lazily regarding her.

The cries of the seagulls ended their discussion, along with Nina's shout that she could see a fisherman's boat at four o'clock. The small ferry leaned slightly to one side as the HiME, along with the pale Youko, and Haruka rushed to see if there were people aboard the small vessel. What greeted them looked awfully like an answer to a good part of their questions. It seemed to notice them as well.


End file.
